


Silent As A Ghost

by NervousAliceCurious



Series: Opposite Loop [5]
Category: Inspired by other fandoms, Original Work
Genre: Gen, The Tokens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:01:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 18,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26944858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NervousAliceCurious/pseuds/NervousAliceCurious
Summary: Their timing never was very good. A thousand miles away, and only two and a half Tokens to go. And it's way too late to go back-
Series: Opposite Loop [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1718461
Comments: 43
Kudos: 3





	1. World Shift

**Author's Note:**

> Cw: Knives, blood.

“I want to see it personally”.

-And I don’t care _how_ odd of a reason that is.

“It’s life or death matters”.

-She’s giving me a strange look.

The guards have their knives out, but I’m not afraid of them.

“-Are you a rebel?”

“To whom?”

Certainly not to you...

“-It was so boring up there”, the Emperor drones from out of sight...

She rolls her eyes.

They must do this often.

“Don’t go telling the Collector”.

She huffs-

“I won’t”.

Providing she’s even still alive right now...

“I don’t break promises”.

She raises an eyebrow.

“Your Majesty?”

They look from me to her-

“-Tie him up”.

-What-

I fight, but there’s a knife at my neck.

.....Is this going to be a running trend?

They do it tightly enough I’m losing circulation.

“Is this _really_ necessary?”

-My fingers spasm in reflex.

“Do you think we want to die?”

-I believe the operative term is ‘again’...

They push me.

The wound on my throat re-opens.

She gingerly lifts a small box.

I try to avoid looking at the _trail_ I’m leaving behind.

-The Collector will be the least of their worries.

-I hear a click.

An orange orb glitters.

I am vaguely reminded of the soul that spelled the end of....

......

I made it my business to remember the names of those who might lead to detriment if they died.

I _cannot_ remember hers for the life of me-

Oh.

Delta.

. . .The fact that I _didn’t_ recognize her on sight should have been my first clue.

I still know next to nothing.

“What is that?”

I tip my head slightly so the sharpened edge doesn’t nick me too badly-

“It’s contraband”.

-He’s interested.

“Mother and I risked a lot getting it-“

She gives him the ‘be-quiet-right-now, or-you’re-in-big-trouble’ stare.

I wonder what they had to do.

“We traded it in an excellent game of go-“

Must have been some game.

-The mother shushes him soon after.

“He doesn’t need to be knowing that!”

-It isn’t information I’d consider helpful, anyway.

I’ll probably forget it-

She waves her hand in a circle over the orb, and it faintly glows from the inside.

“There”.

“-Are you going to untie me now?”

They don’t.

“Here is your way”.

She holds it closer to me.

I can’t...seem to look away-

The more I try, the more I’m sucked in.

I’m-

.......I’m sucked. . . .in-

.

..

...

....Did it-work-

A faint outline of-

A...?  
Shapes that resemble buildings faintly float in front of my eyes.

I’m standing-

My knees buckle, my head is on _fire-_

_. . .wake up_

wake up

“-wake up-!”

My hands are no longer bound behind me.

I notice that, first.

Second-

_I’m surprised they didn’t kill me._

Unless they knew I couldn’t come back-

Their secret safe, forever.

.....Where am I?

The third thing.

Magma steams in the streets.

I can see a peak in the distance-

The smoke is _thick_ here.

Even my own lungs are finding it hard to breathe-

The people who _are_ out are wearing masks.

Whispering on the sidelines, grayish forms.

“Are you okay?”

I can barely see who’s speaking to me.

“...”

Much less gather up the energy to speak.....

How on earth did they bear it?

-Well for him, he was most likely excited by the prospect.

His mother must have _hated_ it-

Streams are pouring from the sky as we watch.

“-Wh-“

I cough-

“Where is-this-“

“Uhh...”

An arm tries to help me up.

A kid.

“This is Huoshān”.

“Thank you...”

I feel...so dizzy.......

“Do you need me to call somebody?”

“Call. . .?”

-I’m out again before I can say another word.

-

...........?

The spinning’s lessened.

The ceiling pipes revolve in lazy revolutions.

-How long-

-The loud clanging of pots startles me fully, awake-

Who’s breaking things out there!?

I sit up.

My eyes-

I cover them, orange flashes burned into my retinas.

I feel better, save that-

Someone’s bandaged my throat.

My wrists, no more spider webs on me.

I am immediately suspicious.

I head for the door.

-It’s just a jagged opening in the wall, a sheet of corrugated metal leaned against the side.

It’s warm-

“You’re awake”.

Steam from every corner.

How does she see well enough to flip those eggs?

“I might’ve known we’d have a weirdo dropping in eventually-“

“A weirdo?”

-She isn’t incorrect.

“What about a pair of Royals?”

“Ha!”

There’s a slapping against the pan.

“That wedding was over before it even started”.

“Huh-“

“He wasn’t interested in any of the ladies here. His mother, the uppity snob, she was _very_ displeased-“

“That figures”.

“I know!”

Her blue dress stands out like a beacon.

“She said they were _never_ coming back-“

-Feel like _that’s_ going to mess some things up...

Then again.

Pity we can’t use the volcano to _finally_ get rid of that Staff.

It’s just lucky they didn’t have the Token-

I don’t...think I can get to Arabia as easily as I was sent here.

Somehow.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Ma”.

“Ma-?”

“You’ve been asleep in here for three days”.

“Three-!?”

I’d been exhausted, but-

“Quick! What’s changed!?”

“-Nothing?”

She sounds pretty calm despite the whole ‘stranger-in-the-rear-room’ situation-

“It’s been three days-“

“Yes, and-?”

I stare at her.

“No one’s come after me?”

“-I don’t recall anyone making the rounds for a 6 ft. blonde”.

“You forgot the ‘ghost’, part”.

“I thought ghosts were supposed to be dead”.

She snorts.

“I’m not dead yet...”

I peek around her.

“We’re alone here?”

“Too hot, too liable to get drenched in Fenghuang’s grumblings”.

“The volcano?”

“Who else?”

A ‘who’, not a ‘what’.

Interesting.

“We’ll be open by next week”.

“Where is....who brought me here?”

“Well one’s on a hike-“

“And?”

She nods to indicate the other.

I completely missed them because of the thick condensation-

Recognition trickles over me.

“You-!!”

I know them!

They were in the Museum-

“What are you doing here!??”

They blinked purple eyes.

“You know her?”

Ma-

Why isn’t she freaking out!??

“This...person used to work for the Cursed God!!”

“Who?”

-How could she not have heard!?

“The tentacled octopus who is _obsessed_ with this one girl-“

“Poor child”.

“. . .”

She has _no_ idea.

“She was spying for him!”

“She’s not doing that now”.

“...”

I look back:

She sits ram-rod straight, like a doll.

“That doesn’t mean she can’t start”.


	2. New In Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because exploring is a good way to solve problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Brief food mention, stalker, yelling, and brief implied body horror. Spy worries.

“-I don’t know what you’re attempting to insinuate over there, but she looks pretty harmless to me”.

-She goes back to egg-flipping.

Really?

The Ace doesn’t even seem to be alive.

I know better-

“What are you doing?”

“Making breakfast?”

She gives me a funny stare.

“-Who’s on a hike?”

Something beeps, and I have to repeat myself.

“She’ll be back later”.

“. . .”

_So_ helpful.

I only have one lead and it has to do with fruit.

A name would have been convenient-

“-When will she be back-“

“Are you a stalker?”

“NO”.

Her eyes grow huge.

“...’Kay......”

That’s the last thing we need around here.

“I just want to know if she found anything interesting”.

“Like what?”

Ma grins-

“Buried treasure?”

“All I want is one coin”.

If only it were a joke.

“Right”.

She turns off the burner.

Most of the steam stops.

Everything is covered in condensation-

Including me.

I shake out my sleeves-

This is uncomfortable.

I hear a loud SNAP from nearby...

The doll is bent oddly.

Joints must be swollen.

“Ooh. . .”

Ma hurries over.

“Poor thing-hang in there-“

She helps her stand up, with much cracking noises.

“You look so young to have arthritis already-!!”

-Yes, she truly does not know.

...

It may become detrimental.

“I’m going out”.

“-Nope”.

I’m about to open the door-

“You get yourself back here-“

She grabs my arm-?

“You’re barely recovered!”

“I’m fine-“

“It’s been three days, and you were asleep for all of them”.

...Can’t argue with that, but-

“Don’t tell me _nothing_ hurts”.

This one shouldn’t be as taxing.

“Nothing does-“

She narrows her eyes at me.

“I’m not lying”.

“-Well you should at least take a map-!”

-A map would be useful, I agree.

“Let go-“

-She does.

I don’t know how she can _see_ through all of that steam, but I hear things slamming-

“There”.

A paper is jammed in my hand.

“For you-“

And another-

“What is this?”

“It’s my phone”.

“-Why do I have your phone-“

“If you’re feeling weird at all, CALL ME”.

I wince-

“Don’t yell, and I will”.

“-Oh, and can you set this poor girl outside?”

The Ace is currently in mid-step.

For the next hour.

“I-“

-Something beeps louder-

“My eggs!!”

And-she’s not paying attention anymore.

Okay then...

I look toward _her._

What am I supposed to do with you?

Does she have an idea of what I’m carrying?

-I won’t ask.

I lift her up-

She weighs almost nothing.

Her eyes are reflective, but all dolls’ eyes are.

Is anyone watching?

I thump her down onto the concrete.

Standing stiffly.

-Whether she’s spying right as I am thinking it, it doesn’t matter.

I’ve covered any traces of _them._

I unfold the map. . .

The steam made its folds _stick-_

Get-undone-

It almost impales me in the eye.

-But anyway.

According to these tiny lines, Huoshān winds in a spiral up to the top of the volcano.

I might be detecting a sacrificial route...

But that may be just a theory.

I look at the street.

At least I won’t be run-over.

There’s no room for any vehicular...anything.

Shy of asking _everyone_ in sight for their name, a hike on my own is in order.

I like warmth better than cold, but even I have my limits, apparently.

The grass thinned out a good mile ago.

There’s no steam.

But I am _sweating-_

The crater is within my sight.

If I can reach it without having to bail...

-Or it could be melted in my hand.

At least Ma won’t have grounds to be upset.

I wipe it off onto a rock.

I walk a little further, then I _have_ to stop.

Fortunately, someone had the good sense to install a water station.

I duck under the shade.

Vines have ripped it from the fixtures, but it still holds.

Phew. . . .

I rest for a minute-

What the-?

A crumpled piece of paper.

-Good, old quadratics...

The name in the corner is ‘Cherry’.

I blink.

...’Some kind of fruit’.

Huh.

-I can’t tell if it’s reacting because I’m 100-degrees, but I have more questions to ask when I get back.

I tuck it away for later.

I have a volcano to visit.

I drink some of the water.

Perhaps later, I’ll look at it further.

It would be nice if I could carry half of it with me-

I knew it.

There is a plastic walkway over the churning flames.

It doesn’t look like it’s ever thought about being dormant in its life.

I crouch down.

One wrong step-

Is it just me...

There might be something in there.

I’m running through possible ideas as to what it could be-

What was it called again?

-I don’t remember.

Another one for the list.

I stand up-

I think I see a flash of black.

I’m briefly reminded of the cat-

I follow it.

Interested.

As luck would have it, I see something growing well away from the lava zone.

Who knew a forest could grow here, even if it _is_ half-dead.

It’s almost too good to be true.

-So it must be.

“-Do you talk?”

. . .

-They don’t answer, but if they did, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.

-It has to be magical.

There’s just no other explanation.

I swear half of these branches are actively _trying_ to get in my way.

I don’t exactly fit the ‘Usual Bait Criteria’...

Roots keep tripping me up-

What’s hiding in here!?

I think I pull five muscles in my neck, attempting to _figure that out-_

Some-

Cottage?

-I have a five-second glimpse.

Before I am effectively pushed back-

The cat hisses at me.

-Can’t be the same cat, then.

Suspicious.

I walk around the borderline, rubbing my arms.

Why was that cat watching if I’m _not_ supposed to be here?

Someone lives in there, that is for sure.

They’re either very reclusive (relatable), or they have bad intent.

Unless the feline is a guard dog, I’m willing to bet it’s the second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suspicious.


	3. Forest Spirit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who or what is hiding behind the volcano?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Blood, implied death, implied blunt force trauma. Sensory overload, and memory manipulation.

-I can think that, but how do I-get-in-

I try to pull the branches apart, and they _scratch_ me.

I frown-

They’re cutting into the bandages.

Brute force only got me so far.

So...

“-Do you talk?”

They rustle at me.

Or there is a wind, but it’s hard to say.

“I’m just a harmless tourist”.

-Though that could change upon your answer.

“Let me in?”

The cat spits at me.

“-I’ll get to you in a minute”.

I turn back to the trees.

-If all else fails, I could always poison.

“It will only be for ten seconds-“

And I’m going to have to _sprint._

...

There is a decided amount of _nothing_ happening.

Well-

I spit into my own hand.

The cat’s hairs arch.

I move my palm close to the wo-

And _now_ they’ll move.

. . . .

I smile to myself.

They know I’ll burn them if I have to.

That’s how I get close enough to see.

In.

-WHAT-

I recoil-

How many eyes can grow in one wall-

Oh.

. . . . I blink the swirl of black and white out of my head.

They’re _birds._

Every type possible.

It’s almost dizzying.

-Which I don’t need...

I rub my sockets.

-There doesn’t appear to be anyone just lounging around?

. . . . . . . Certainly an aesthetic..........

I look for another window.

-The shutters repel me-!?

“Ow-“

I test my fingers’ range of motion.

Is everything electrified all of the time-!??

-I can _feel_ that cat watching me.

-Well I can’t very well risk waltzing through the front door...

I keep walking.

Oh.

Someone’s been digging.

I kneel down, and brush off the topmost soil.

No name?

Curious.

I brush off a little more.

-A hand grabs my wrist.

I jump-

The grip tightens.

I hiss in pain.

Buried alive-?

Their nails rip through the fabric-

I rip my hand loose!

Blood drips anyway. . . . .

I look back, and the pale hand is still.

It’s like I imagined it-

Except I _know_ that I did not.

.............

I have no sticks to reach out with.

Whoever this is, might be able to tell me things.

Provided they don’t turn _me_ into an actual Ghost.

“.....Hello?”

How many times have I said that.

“Are you undead or just plain dead”.

.......Not very talkative out here.

I sigh, and just poke at it.

-I dodge the spasming-

A whole arm is unearthed.

There’s definitely someone buried here.

I brush the rest of the dirt off-

The arm helps.

Who knew I’d be joining forces with a corpse.

-I recognize her face...

It was on the MISSING Poster.

I’m not sure if I still have it-

She doesn’t move...well.

I think she’s been frozen-

Parts of her have cracked.

Mainly in the elbows and knees, the hem of her dress-

All I can make out beneath her bangs is a blood-soaked blindfold.

-She must’ve been beaten to death.

-Her arms close around me.

I was half-expecting, I’d come in closer to get a better look.

It was still a shock-

“-Can you speak?”

-Yes, talk logical, while your ribs are dying.

Oww......

“Can you _let go-“_

-She’s not going to let go, is she?

I nearly get an elbow to the throat-

“Watch it-“

I lift her up as I stand.

“. . . . . .”

I don’t remember her name.

I can faintly see the cloth move-

Must be her eye.

-Her _nails_ are digging into me again...

I try to ignore it-

What-

Happened.

The grass is running in _blood._

It pours out of the windows, and is _she_ doing this!?

My feet squish-

The trees are saturating even as I hurry past them.

I prop her up against the wall-

The birds _scream_ at me.

-For a minute, I **cannot** see **_anything._**

I can’t _hear_ anything-

I can’t even panic properly--

I hear someone.

I can’t tell what they are saying.

I slowly. . .fade back in-

_Ow,_ my **head-**

-What was I doing?

I can’t-remember-

I sit up. . .

I don’t remember.

I quickly stand up-

Yellow brush.

There’s a forest, behind me-

The sun is _much_ lower in the sky.

I don’t-know where I-

The bank crumbles, and I almost fall-

Someone catches my arm.

. . . . . . .

Ma.

Wait-

“You-came all the way out here-!?”

She holds up a shard of melted glass.

-I have the strangest feeling I am in trouble.

“Didn’t seem like the type to get _lost_ so I had to go out and find you-and I’m glad I did”.

-I’m still amazed she _went_ there.

She’s clearly sweating buckets-

“-Why did you do that?”

“Because as long as you’re living under my roof, I’m responsible for you”.

“.....That’s...all it is”.

“I’m a very direct woman, you know!”

-So it would seem.

I wasn’t....expecting that-

-She draws a new bandage around my bleeding wrist.

“-Did someone grab you?”

“I don’t remember”.

“That’s so weird. . . . .”

She looks at me with concern-

“I know”.

I shift irritably in the chair-

“If I could just-“

-A thought strikes me.

“-Did that other person ever come back from their hike?”

“Huh-oh yeah. She did...”

“...What’s her name?”

She crosses over to a stairwell I didn’t even realize was there.

“CHEEEEERRY-“

_A fruit._

I stand up-

“THEY’RE HEREEEE-“

Goodness, that woman could wake the dead.

.

The dead. . .?

I hear thumping on the stairs.

A girl with dark hair appears-

“-!”

She yelps.

“Something wrong, dear?”

“I-th-their eyes just...”

-She’s regretting mentioning it already.

My mark _burns..._

“Cherry...”

She startles.

“. . . .?”

Then she squints.

“-You look familiar-“

“From where?”

“Um....the web, somewhere?”

Impossible.

I keep my traces hidden.

-Unless.

“What about my eyes?”

“Uh-“

“Is it that they turn red?”  
“No. . .”

She bites her lip.

“They look. . .”

I see her rummaging in her shorts-pocket.

“Kinda like that, though......”

The blue eyes of the MISSING Poster-

-Memories hit me in flashes.

An arm, the blindfold, the grass-

“That woman was murdered”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who's back-


	4. Daylight Thief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even though their memory is in shambles, they've still got the Token, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Dead bodies, death discussion, blood, injury, memory manipulation.

The images disappear as quickly as they flash in-

I wobble-

“...Me?”

“What-no”.

Cherry, you’re alive-

And you’re not wearing blue.

“Why do you think it’s you-“

“I-I don’t know, you just said-“

I sigh.

“The face on your Poster. In your hand”.

“Oh...”

She turns pink.

“That makes more sense. . . . . .”

I massage my forehead.

Where _was_ that?

Why can’t I remember-

“-What were you saying about my eyes?”

“Huh-oh...”

She takes a while to answer-

“-They had the same color as the ones on the Poster-“

“I thought that was it”.

But now that brings up the question-

“It’s not accurate, however”.

“I think my mirror would disagree with you”, Ma says.

“-Mirrors don’t like me”.

Usually.

“Even if it’s small?”

Cherry’s digging in her other pocket.

“Like this?”

A tiny compact.

I squint.

My irises flicker a pale aqua.

“No, that’s not right-“

-It cracks soon after.

Cherry utters a cry of surprise.

“And _that_ is how mirrors don’t like me”.

“Odd if you ask me...”

Ma packs up the remaining gauze.

“You’re sure that lady was murdered?”

“Yes. I’m positive-“

“How?”

Cherry asks me that, and I-

“I-saw the body. I know I did. I just- don’t remember-“

“Don’t remember what?”

Ma tilts her head-

“Where...why did I go up there? Did I tell you?”

“No, you just said you were ‘going out’”.

-Wow I’m unhelpful.

“Remind me to never be vague again”.

“Okay-“

....This is disturbing me.

Why can’t I remember anything past leaving-

“-Cherry”.

“-Yeah?”

“Did you find a flat coin on one of your hikes?”

“-! How did you-“

She _does_ have it.

“Someone in a different port happened to see you find it”.

“Who?”

“Some Captain. He was a pain”.

I wave it away.

“He’s in jail now”.

“O...kay-“

She shifts from foot to foot.

-Best get this out before she flees back upstairs.

“May I see it?”

“Huh-sure”.

She reaches into another pocket.

The golden glare tinges violet-

“Woah!??”

“Oh my-!??”

They’re shocked-

I’m not.

I’ve seen this before-

Seven times.

A butterfly, with vines impaled in its wings.

“Congratulations Cherry, you are officially a Guardian”.

“What!?”

-With a sudden _meow, a_ raging ball of fur claws it from her grip.

“Ow!!”

“Darn you-!”

I shout at it-

You followed us here!!

-I throw open the front door, but they’re already long gone.

“Ma...”

I look over my shoulder.

Blood streaks her fingers.

“-Come into the bathroom quick, _where_ did I put that disinfectant-!!!”

As she ushers the girl away, I feel eyes on me-

It’s not that cat.

It’s the Ace.

I saw it run down the street.

I know.

How many they have.

And how close they are.

I should tell-

But I’m swollen with steam and it’s hard-

To make my magic _work._

They’re meeting my stare.

...What do they _get_ out of this?

-If I could _just_ remember where that cat came from, we could snatch it.

But all I’m doing is drawing a _blank-_

I’m highly tempted to punch the wall.

Highly.

Tempted.

But I won’t do it.

I don’t want to burn myself with the vapor on accident.

I can’t think of anyone who would have that kind of power.

-Except the Sorceress, and she’s dead.

Cecelia is lost in that Dimensional prison, and I don’t even know about the Collector-

Her and her... _allies,_ don’t have a clue about any of this, anyway.

Only thing to do seems to be to...’go out’.

Again.

“Save it for tomorrow!!” Ma scolds.

(-How did she-)

“And I might not let you do it anyhow!!”

But-

....................

I _could_ argue.

But I do owe her.

“-Where was the woods in which you found it?”

It’s the next day, and I still haven’t figured out what’s going on with my memory.

“Up in the mountains”.

She thumbs through her phone-

“See?”

-It’s in the _opposite_ direction from the volcano.

“Smart of it”.

“Yeah-wish I still had it, it was so pretty......”

She has no idea, either.

These people have _no idea-_

What would they do if the barrier came down?

Would _anyone_ notice that?

They probably wouldn’t.

-And it’d be a good thing.

I don’t think either the Cursed one nor Mystic would like that too much, however...

“-Did you recognize the cat?”

“No, I’ve never seen it before”.

“Hmm...”

That figures.

“-We’ll just have to lure them to us, then”.

“Huh-“

“Set a honey trap”.

“-We could be accused of animal kidnapping”, Ma chimes in.

“They stole from us first”.

“It’s our word against their owner who didn’t even see-“

“They don’t have to know”.

I pick up a small bowl from the rack.

“They like milk, don’t they? Catnip, fish-“

“Maybe we could ask...her?”

Cherry indicates the doll.

Still standing out there-

“Can we trust her?”

“I mean, I do-“

“Then you ask her”.

“Okay”.

She gets up-

“-Wait-“

In the end, I’m eavesdropping.

And Cherry knows it because I said it, and the Ace. . .must know everything anyway.

-Though how _anyone_ could tell with that empty gaze......

“Um...hey”.

The conversation begins-

“Did you....see a black blur go whizzing by here yesterday?”

“......................................................”

Compared to how chatty the other hench-lieutenants turned out to be, this is almost unnerving.

“-Wow, really!?”

-What did she do?

Did she move?

Because I saw nothing-

“Up there?”

Oh _now_ I get it...!

Her head is moving slightly on her neck.

It makes slight cracking noises every so often-

I try to pinpoint where-

The volcano?

Faint smoke spirals into the sky-

Must be a brave cat.

“Thank you!.....we need to get you some ice, seriously”.

“-Already putting it on my to-do list-!” Ma calls-

(How does she do that!?)

And why didn’t they buy that earlier-

The doll may as well be a walking corpse.

. . .

Ugh-those images- _again-_

I grit my teeth.

If I could just remember where I _saw_ her!

-It _wasn’t_ only that poster, I _know_ it-

Cherry peeks her head in.

“You okay?”

“...I’m fine”.

I try to convince myself of that for a while longer because we have a lead.

It feels painfully out-of-character.

But since when was ‘being yourself’, any good for this universe-

_“Someone_ should go to that volcano-“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Never underestimate cats.


	5. Maze Of The Bird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to go get it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Paranoia, drinking (non-alc.), mention of bruises. People being kidnapped, yanked- Brief dessert mention.

“-And someone will”.

Ma pokes her head out.

“Now?” I ask-

“Are you feeling up to it?”

“. . .”

I look toward the Ace.

“We shouldn’t leave her”.

“I agree...”

Cherry plays with her hair nervously.

“The heat might-“

“Of course, I understand”.

-She still won’t say anything.

Where did she come from-

It’s gotten hotter.

How is that even possible-

I wipe the sweat off my brow.

“We can always turn back”, Ma says-

“No”.

I brace myself.

“It could be hotter tomorrow, if we turn back”.

The crater is actively giving off heat waves.

I grimace-

“Phew. . .”

Cherry laughs slightly.

“Feels like we’re in the jungle”.

“It’s not very impressive”.

The grass is getting sparse.

There’s a forest in the far distance, but it’s tangled-

“Water break-“

Ma goes for a cup.

So do I-

The Ace sits there.

Stiff as a board.

Is she broadcasting us right now-

She’s outnumbered, however.

She can’t do anything.

I keep telling myself that-

I keep probing my memory.

If I had the usual resources at my disposal, maybe I could bring what I’ve lost to the forefront-

How it eludes me, drives me insane!

It truly does.

I don’t speak about that lightly.

“Is this as far as it goes?”

“I think so...?”

Cherry fans her face.

“There’s no way a cat would stick around in such humid conditions”.

I start toward the barrier of trees-

“I’m going to peek in here-“

“-Wait for us-!”

Ma’s footsteps crunch behind me.

I peer in-

Branches shove at me.

“What-“

I crash through.

A maze of hedges.

“....”

I should have known they would resort to that-

Twigs wrap around my legs.

I kick at them-

-Cherry crashes through next.

“Ow-they’re so pushy!!”

Then Ma.

“Where’s the Ace?” I ask her-

“I don’t know-“

The kid looks frantically behind her-

“She was _just_ there-!!”

-Branches grab at her arms.

She screams.

“Ahhh, stop it-!!”

“Shoot! Get down-“

Ma stomps on them.

They recoil and _hiss-_

“Run!”

I beckon them forward-

“Where!?”

I huff-

“If we break straight through, we should find the center easily”.

But there’s a slight problem with that.

The leaves are as thick, and impossible to penetrate as a wall-

I spit into my hand again.

“-Hygiene, please sir-!” Ma scolds-

I ignore it, and smear the brush.

It eats away into a small hole.

-It works, but it won’t help on such a small scale....

I feel the tendrils seize the opening and snag my arms.

I pull loose-

“-On second thought: Just go anywhere-“

Two sets of running heartbeats besides my own.

“Look at them”.

The woman sips from a teacup while her loyal cat slumbers nearby...

“They’re coming for you”.

I sat stiffly in my chair, fiddling with a blue ball in my hand.

I’d recovered enough with their attention that I could summon them again.

I could plant them anywhere, and no one would see-

“. . .You don’t talk much?”

Her brown hair spilled over her shoulder.

Darker than mine-

“.................................”

I don’t know you.

“.....You have nothing to fear from me, you know. . . . . .”

-I could make no judgment one way or the other.

I had not yet sampled the drink she’d prepared for me.

Her eyes returned to a floating crystal ball in the air.

A faded figure, a girl in purple summer wear, and an older woman in a cyan dress and apron.

“-Did she ever confide in you her name?”

Cherry.

“My familiar has told me some. . . . .interesting things”.

She sets down her cup.

No sound.

“. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “

I could say.

But it’s not that important to me.

.....Follow ‘left’, and the escape should be clear, shouldn’t it?

I don’t dare press my palm to the hedge walls.

Occasionally, they’ll grab a limb, and trip me up.

I’m surprised I’m not bruised black-and-blue-

“Are-we-going-in-circles-!!” Cherry pants-

“I cannot tell”, I admit.

I slow. . .

Ma puffs.

“What I wouldn’t give-for a ladder-!!”

I give her a strange look.

“To climb _over_ this inanity!!!”

“Ah”.

Too bad we don’t have one.

-It’s only inevitable we become tired.

Branches twine around my waist and lift me up-

I’m swinging above it all.

The shape presented below chills me:

A carrion, crow-

Black flowers rim the edges.

They release a dark, grainy scent-

I cover my mouth.

Where are-

I’m about to hack up my lungs when I’m pulled down-

My ankle-!!  
“Ow-No!!”

I pull at the knot, as I’m dragged-

I’m yanked through the hedges, but I’m not harmed.

It’s like they’re forming a tunnel!?

Custom-made for me-

“Ma!!”

I scratch at the ground as it skirts by-

“....”

I don’t know what their name is.

I’m released onto wide, front steps.

I’m shuddering-

That was-that was _terrifying-_

The door opens.

“Hello, dear. How are you?”

Son of a-!?

“-Wait until I get down there, and-!!”

The darn vine digs into my waist strings-

I tug at it, and wrinkle my nose at the offending scent.

“What on earth is going on!?”

“Don’t ask me....”

They’re awfully calm for someone suspended a good 100 feet in midair.

“Whoever’s doing this has had ample opportunity to drop us”.

“Well what are we supposed to do!?”

“Let me think-“

I fall into a sullen silence.

-I was going to make a five-layer cake today, you know!??

I _really_ didn’t need this.

-In truth, the solution is quite obvious to me.

I’m just wary on _if_ I can pull it off.

The volcano’s crater continues to smoke on the horizon.

-In the entire opposite direction, a house sits.

A cottage.

It’s made out of caramel-glazed candy.

The glamour’s failing beneath the wood...

Must be because of the heat.

It is _relentless_ here-

Providing I can aim well enough, I _may_ be able to land on the roof-

Or down the chimney.

Whichever comes first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I figured out what to do about the Token.


	6. Witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Imagine the most awkward visitation in your life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Blood, dead bodies. Injury.

-I knew it.

One acid touch, and I’m suddenly in midair.

“No!!”

Ma tries to snag my arm.

She doesn’t.

Air rushes past me-

Come up with a plan or you won’t survive-

They can’t be destroyed now, one’s not even clean, and there’s still two left-!!

The treetops.

If I can-

My hand stings, and _breaks_ when I try-

It was worth a shot-!!

I protect my head with my arms.

A branch prods me in the ribs-

_That_ definitely cracked. . . . .

My heartbeat _roars_ into my ears.

Something’s snapping around me, branches-!?

_Red_ branches-

I can’t-I can’t move-!

My injured limb jars, and I bite my tongue.

I’m pulled through a throbbing chute, and deposited into a backyard-

The amount of birdhouses is ludicrous.

It’s neat and well-cared-for, and-ow, those twigs prick-!

A door opens.

We stare at each other for a moment.

-She snaps her fingers, and the plants holding me-let go.

I narrowly keep my balance.

“That was rather dangerous”.

“-Too late now. . .”

I wince as I walk over-

“Are you going to keep Ma hung up, or...?”

She snaps her fingers.

The woman drops.

“-No!”

-But I shouldn’t have worried, she’s funneled down as well.

The woman smiles as Ma dusts herself off-

“What was _that_ for!??”

“My forest is very protective of me. . .”

She sounds innocent, but...

“Won’t you both come in for tea?”

The Ace is one with her chair.

Evidently. . .

Cherry sits nervously-

Ma keeps glaring at the woman, now and then.

I can’t say I’m not doing the same, exact thing.

Her magic ball still shows an overhead view of the maze.

I am **_highly_** tempted to smash it-

-Purring.

That _cat-_

They’re just lying in a sunlit corner, playing nice.

“Who are you?”

“My name’s Circe”.

The witch from Greek Mythology.

This is just getting better, and better.

She’s busy pouring cups, and I’m trying to stand close to her feline-

-No Token.

My mark would be reacting, if-

“Your security’s a bit much, don’t you think?” Ma crabs.

“It works”.

She shrugs.

-Because why _wouldn’t_ she answer like that.

“Your...familiar stole a coin from us”, I add.

“You mean...this?”

She reveals a gleaming object in her hand.

“-Yes-“

She’s not just going to give it back for free.

I know.

“-Can I have my Poster back?”

I knew it-

Cherry stiffens.

“-What?”

“I heard you have one...I’d really like it returned to me”.

“But-“

She looks conflicted.

“It’s a missing person-“

“The case was closed years ago”.

She sighs.

“Poor woman”.

Not a trace of a giveaway in her eyes.

“It’s just cluttering up space now”.

-That doesn’t seem right.

“You sure?”

I watch her, carefully-

“She must still have family, somewhere-“

“I haven’t seen hide nor hair of them”.

Light.

You don’t just, gloss over-

“You don’t have to give it back to her if you don’t want to”.

-Ma and Cherry look between the two of us.

The latter picks up her tea, and drinks it.

“-Oh?”

Circe is effectively distracted.

“How do you like it?”

Cherry grins slightly, and gives a thumbs-up.

“It’s great-“

Joy.

I step into the hallway.

“-Where’s your bathroom? Your plants left scrapes-“

“On the left-“

I do visit there.

I’d be a liar if I didn’t.

I borrow some of the bandages, and then-

. . .

And then what.

........Maybe she’ll know how to bring my memories forward.

But I don’t trust her enough for that.

I re-enter, and even Ma has a teacup.

There’s one set up for me.

I have no intention of drinking it.

I sit down, reluctantly...

“How is your hand?”

I move it away.

“It is what it is”.

“I could use a healing spell-“

“I’m fine”.

I don’t trust you enough for that.

Ma sips, noticeably-

Circe’s smile strains at the edges.

“I’ll go get the sandwiches. . . . .”

Yes, go.

An uncomfortable silence.

I tap my fingers on the table.

The tension is so palpable-

A flicker of red catches my eye.

She’s left her crystal ball. . .

The crow sits ominously frozen in flight.

I blink.

It’s wing tips are dripping blood.

-The glass cracks.

Ma lets out a startled shout, the tea spills everywhere.

What-was that-

“-Did something break?”

Her voice floats in-

I see the red inching across the floor.

I look to them-

......It might not be safe to indicate.

Not while she’s _right there-_

“I might open a window”.

I stand-

“. . .Good idea”.

Ma is still eyeing the glass.

Cherry rubs her forehead.

The Ace...

Are you even alive?

It smells like blood.

The birds’ sockets are bleeding....

I fight with the latch.

My fingertips keep slipping-

It’s wet.

-The coppery scent hits me right in the face.

I-

_I’ve smelled this before._

It’s a certainty that brings in-

_The windows-_

My feet squish-

I lift one leg other the sill, then the other.

Shut it, no use in leaving suspicions.

The forest has darkened.

What or who-

Déjà-vu.

I’ve been on this path before.

The branches don’t grab at me.

It’s another’s power, it has to be-

Smooth dirt.

I don’t believe it.

An indentation forms.

A handprint.

I kneel-

I brush off the covering.

It’s the body.

........It’s _the_ body.

That means-

-I look back, suddenly worried.

And _furious-_

It could only have been her.

Unless she has some room mate I don’t know about-

How _dare_ she meddle with my mind!

-I have to tread carefully.

Or I’ll lose my memories again.

Jane, here, (that was her name on the Poster), manifesting. . . _that,_ may or may not be as powerful as she gets.

I reveal an arm, and pull her out-

“......”

The frost still coats her limbs.

I don’t have a counter for that-

“-Can you hide?”

The seconds before I’m caught are dwindling away, I feel it.

“She might be out here soon”.

-She does nothing.

Well.....

Understandable.

“. . . .”

I don’t have many options.

I eventually just sneak her behind a trellis.

I’m late.

I’m late-

I lift up the window, it takes me two tries.

I close it without incident, and it barely makes a whisper.

I sigh.

I hear a meow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone is not happy.


	7. Poison Butterflies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pieces come together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Drinking, death. Cramps, nausea, vomiting, fear, the dark, fever. Dessert.

I turn around.

The cat glares at me.

“. . .What”.

“Mrrow!”

“I don’t speak ‘cat’”.

I walk off.

Their eyes are on me the entire way.

“Was the air to your liking?”

-Did I say that?

“It was”.

Annnd recovered.

I sit in the chair.

-I’d love to throw it at her, but it’s not yet the time.

“How was the tea?”

Right.

I’m the only one who hasn’t tried it yet.

Though I can’t be sure about _her._

The Ace has a cup in front of her, but she’s barely staring at it.

“.....What flavor?”

“-It was a bit tricky picking one for you. . .”

“How so?”

“You hide all your secrets close”.

-What does she think she’s playing at!?

“-So I went with the Vireo...some avocado and mint spice”.

“What-“

“The color matches”.

She hums, and stirs her own tea-

I admire the _audacity._

And that’s it.

“-What about our stolen property?”

“Poster first”.

Cherry hesitantly lifts her hand-

-I _could_ cause another stalemate, but it hardly matters.

Unless Circe can magically read minds-

Ma intervenes.

“-There are barely any pictures of her left!”

“I’m sure there are some”.

“Why do you want it so bad?”

-I realize where this is going, and I try to interrupt-

“Is that a weird hobby you’ve been cultivating or are you the one who. . .”

Unsuccessfully.

I facepalm.

In my mind-

“....Did it. . . . . . . .”

Somehow it’s colder in here.

“Oh.....”

She is no longer smiling.

“-I suppose you can’t leave, then”.

She thunks down her cup-

“-But I have school in a month”, Cherry’s voice cracks-

Circe pulls the Token from nowhere and rolls it between her finger and thumb.

I lunge to my feet.

The chair’s arms reach out like claws, and wrestle me back down.

_“You. . .”_

“You’d need a death for it to work, anyway”.

-Ma quickly glances into her cup.

“Oh don’t worry”.

I immediately have a spike in blood pressure.

“The tea isn’t poisoned. . .”

“Th-Then what?”

Cherry’s fidgeting.

Her chair can’t seem to decide whether or not to pin her like me-

“You’ll simply fall asleep and forget this ever happened”.

“I _knew_ it was you!!”

I wrench at the grip-

“You tampered with my head-!”

“You were too close”.

Regretful tone that I am _not_ having right now!

I try to knock the chair over-

“None of that”.

Its legs lock to the ground.

“Let’s see. . .”

She comes over to me, and her hand is sparkling-

-A crumpled-up paper bounces off her shoulder.

Cherry is a brave deer in headlights.

-She unfolds the paper anyway.

“Oh. My Poster”.

-She burns it up.

She wafts her hand over my face-

I sneeze.

The table sizzles.

“So that’s it....”

“What? What did you do!?”

-The Ace’s neck makes that breaking noise again as her head turns...

“You’ve been traveling with friends for a while”.

-Well if that’s all she found out, I don’t need to panic.

-But something tells me I shouldn’t underestimate her.

“What a coincidence”.

“-What is?”

Ma’s hands are holding onto her cup as if it’s a life preserver.

Or similar.

-I hear a shuffling, but I see nothing...

“You have parallels within them”.

She claps her hands together.

“I’ll make more tea”.

-What is she up to?

No one talks.

The cat wandered in earlier, and they’ve taken to batting at her skirts.

If I could get up, I’d send them out of here.

They have a gleam in their eyes I don’t like.

I swear they know what I did twenty minutes ago-

Circe returns.

New cups.

The grip keeping me locked down loosens enough for me to take one.

Her pet gets a saucer of scented milk.

Who knew that existed.

“Go on. . .”

She has a Cheshire grin on her lips-

“Cheers”.

No one wants to clink their glasses.

-It _does_ taste like avocadoes and mint spice.

. . .

Elsewherre.

“Wh. . .huh-“

I’m...dizzy-

Is it another flash?

No, it _can’t_ be-

-And then the pain hits.

I double over-

N-no! What’s-going-on--

_“Envy?”_

-It’s like it’s coming from...underwater-

I gasp-

**

I try to hide the shaking.

Because I’m hers.

I can’t let-this stop me. . .

_‘Alice!?’_

But I soon fade out.

***

I can’t stop coughing.

Help-!

My lungs hurt-

I can’t-breathe-

I drop into a crouch-

“G a b b i e - “

_‘Tana-!??’_

And I’m out.

Peace

****

“Guys!? Guys I’m scared-“

My vision is gone-

Pins-and-needles everywhere HELP!!

I’m scared-

I’m _scared-_

_‘Sierra!?’_

What’s happening-

*****

_Cat_ hair.

I hack more-

I **_wheeze._**

I _cannot_ keep from vomiting more-

_‘Calliope?’_

_I’m fine-_

I want to say to them.

But the stars have said ‘no, I’m not

I’m deathly-pale.

And _burning_ hot-

I can barely walk before I collapse.

Shadows surround me. . . . . .

It is all-consuming.

_‘Alison-‘_

_‘Alison **no!’**_

_“Go on...Go on without me. . . . . .”_

*

-What did I just see!?!?

“What was that-!!”

Cherry’s gone even paler than death-

Six of them.

Oh **_God-_**

I barely _care_ about the sting!!

-The chair’s hold releases.

Ma stands up as well-

So does the Ace.

The Token gleams with new light.

I snatch it from her-

“There. Now all is vindicated...”

I can’t decide if I’m enraged or impressed.

This woman-

“You may go”.

-Cherry wastes no time.

Someone’s in the doorway.

“HUH!??”

I recognize them instantly-

Circe’s face drains entirely of pigment.

“Wh. . .what-“

_“Your curse is undone”._

Did the Token do that-

_“I thawed out fast, thanks to them-“_

Oh.

“-I think an explanation is an order”, I add.

“Your crystal ball-it _must_ have been lying!!”

Ma spins with an accusatory fingertip-

“It. . .it did not-“

She _gulps._

“I-I put poison in the tea- six different kinds.

It was set to reflect onto those whose archetypes you reflected-“

I stop hearing anything after the last word.

-The vengeful spirit charges halfway across the room, hands clamping tightly around Circe’s neck as the cottage _quakes._

Magic-coated candy rots from the walls and ceiling-

I narrowly avoid being squashed by a fallen beam of mentos.

The four of us get the heck out.

The cat screeches and streaks onto Jane’s back-

It collapses into ash and saccharine sugar crystals.

-A thin vapor trail issues into the sky. . .

So does a darker-shaded one.

The cat creeps from the wreckage, heaving up smoke-

I have it in my hand.

I have it in my hand-

They're not going to like this. . .

They _will **not.**_

And is it my fault for starting this route?

-To h* with plot armor.

But still-

It'll all be worth it to get rid of CG...

They could save them...

Isn't Purgatory a place for the dead _anyway?_

"-Sir?"

-I snap back into focus.

Cherry's hand on my arm-

". . . .Can we go now?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kid you not, this result was randomized. I put in how many 'cups' were bad, and I got ALL 6-


	8. Strangescape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After so much pain....is there only more pain?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Light language, nyctophobia. Paranoia. Talking about death. Implied panicking. Restraints, sensory deprivation to a degree, implied body horror. Insomnia.

-Where am I?

_-Idiot._

_You can’t get away._

-Where am I-

_You don’t **remember me?**_

My blood runs _cold-_

“You!!”

I reach out-

I come up short.

I can’t-move my arms-

“How are you here!? How is this possible-“

_I never left._

“-That’s not true-“

_Then attack me._

_You still hate me for it, don’t you._

-He’s getting to me.

I strain-

-My legs-!?

I can’t see _anything_ in this darkness!!

Anger flames through me-

“This isn’t real. _You’re_ not real! It’s just a dream-“

Iron clinks.

I **freeze.**

I was so caught up-

I didn’t even-

_Are you sure about that?_

It has to be a dream-

I **_couldn’t_** be back here again!!

I feel for locks-

None.

I fight the grip-

_Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it._

I escaped before-

_I’ll just do it another time._

I fight harder-

Poison _stings._

I feel like I’m dissolving from the inside-out-

“Wake up!

_Wake up!!”_

My voice echoes-

It’s like I’ve been swallowed.

_“Wake up wake up wake up!!!”_

I press my fingers to my temples........

My headache _grows._

-?

It’s not...so dark?

I can walk without fear of being restrained.

That’s odd. . . .

A greenish light filters in, just barely.

It’s not nearly enough, and I _know_ I’m not breathing properly.

It’s all I’ve got.

.......Wait. . . .I know this place-

Colored orbs light up:

Lost souls.

I’ve been responsible for a few over the years.

. . . . . . . . . . . Is it-?

Where I’ve been living for a while-

Faint howls trickle in.

 _Not_ for the faint of heart.

Shadows writhe, mutated-

Well maybe it’s been a bit exaggerated.

It _is_ a lucid dream-

I keep walking.

Besides that, something doesn’t. . .feel right....

Windows.

The Upside-Down House is in one.

(My palm aches).

The Porcelain Garden in another.

(My chest hurts).

And then that boat-

(I almost trip myself up when my vision trips out).

Coral creeping in around the edges.

(Ow. . .)

Arabia with its purple scent and lights.

(Merciful. Nothing).

The bright, children’s-block-like colors of the Other Mother’s home.

(My _eyes_ burn).

And the thick forest with Circe’s cottage.

(I want to throw up-everything).

One is empty, devoid of anything.

(....Where could it be? At least the other sensations have faded. . .)

And the last one-

(A throbbing _headache_ inches up the back of my skull).

-I know what it means. . . . . .

My mark is glowing **_wildly._**

It will soon be the end of me.

-I wake up for real.

I am _covered_ in sweat.

I wipe my brow.

I’m sleeping in the back room for some reason. . . . .

Ma keeps insisting.

-The only reason I do it is because she’s not as irritating as she _could_ be.

From what I’ve seen in the past-

I sit on the edge, re-gaining my bearings.

-It is _still_ dark.

 _-And_ it’s 3 AM, wonderful.

-It’s _too_ hot in here.

I head into the kitchen.

No one’s trying to cook a late-night snack.

At the table, is a nodding-off head-

“-Wake up”.

I tap Cherry on the crown.

“Wha-“

She nearly knocks into my elbow.

“-I couldn’t sleep...”

“It could’ve been worse”.

You could’ve had nightmares like me.

“Please don’t tell Ma”.

“Then you’d better get to bed soon”.

-She nods, and I slide open the door.

The Ace leans on the deck.

No expression.

-As per usual...

“. . . . . .”

I pass her without a word.

They don’t have street lights here.

They have hanging lanterns, instead.

Golden-orange in color, it’s enough to settle my nerves.

If there _is_ a moon, I think the smoke ate it.

-I’m not intending to travel to the volcano....ever.

My sacrifice prediction fell into dust, and while it _would_ have been simpler than what ended up happening-

_Six deaths._

The ante’s raised its own bar.

They will _definitely_ be calling ‘traitor’ for it....

But it’s not me.

I don’t even think there _is_ one in this version of events.

-Minus the Ace, but she doesn’t count, because we already knew.

The orange fades.

This is as far as I’m willing to go.

I turn on my heel.

-My mind’s full of noise about something else, now.

Why did _those_ memories get dredged up-

-I could blame it on the chair, but is it the displacement?

I’ve been away from that other world for who-knows-how-long-

I have no way of knowing if it even still exists, or if he’s won.

-How does Mat do it?

Make spreadsheets?

I need one for my _own_ theories.

I need someone to extract that Token energy-or tell me how to do it and I’ll remove it myself.

Like _H*_ I’m landing in Oblivion-

Ma’s Diner looks half-dead in this night.

I have never gotten a good look at it, before.

It’s like someone had fun making a metal and glass container, and then just left it there to gather condensation.

It’s not very big, and one window keeps flickering.

Either the self-proclaimed owner realized a couple of us weren’t sleeping, or it’s Cherry.

It sparks off.

The Ace’s eyes are closed.

I’m _still_ at a loss about her-

I walk inside.

-Whose pouch is that.

It sits on the table, golden light gleaming from it-

-Oh my God.

(Ignore the sizzling-)

The Other Mother took my chains.

Everything important was in them.

Including-

Blood rushes to my brain, and all of a sudden, I have energy.

I loosen the draw strings.

They’re there. . . . .

The green shell, the red flower halves, the dull-black anchor, the amber lamp.

A kit with ‘Ghost’ on it had been shoved in the interior lining.

I feel for the newest Tokens:

The shiny-black Button, and the purple Butterfly Vines.

I’m more relieved than I should be.

-But that quickly passes.

As it should.

Because I _really_ don’t know how this got here.

And I am on **high alert.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another mystery...


	9. Non-Technological Behavior (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The WiFi has to catch up sometime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Talking about death.   
> I think that’s it.

No signs of movement.

Okay. . .

-It doesn’t seem like that woman to do me favors.

I don’t know what I’m expecting. 

A return address?

Even if I’m glad to have all of this back-

Someone did this.

Someone I might not know.

-I keep it on me anyway.

I don’t believe this is due to the same force that was dropping off kits.

I pinch the bridge of my nose.

Still have a headache.

-She’s looking at me.

The Ace wasn’t paying attention before, but now she’s looking at me.

I try not to seem like anything particularly important just happened.

Purple flicker in her eyes.

-I move out of view.

I just can’t risk it.

The phone rings a third time, and that’s when I lose my patience.

“What-“

The plan is to give them .2 seconds to respond, long enough for me to delete from the Caller’s List.

‘-Hi Ghost’.

-I about drop it.

“-Who is this!?”

‘Monika’.

-I slam down the receiver, effectively shutting her up.

People accuse me right and left of me working for her, and then one day out of the blue-

It rings, again.

Louder.

And louder-

I clamp my hands over my ears.

Stop it-

. . .

It stops.

-Oh thank Heavens.

(Ow-)

(Why does it always do that-)

-Would she honestly give up, though?

They made such a big deal-

I had yet to see her for myself.

-And here I am, tempting fate. . .

Energy swirled beneath my feet.

Yup. . .

I fall through.

As annoying as it is, at least the electricity has nothing metal on me to zap.

1’s and 0’s are everywhere-

It looks like a Control Room.

-I don’t know what it controls exactly-

“-Shall we do that over?”

-It’s a high school girl with a ribbon in her hair.

She barely comes up to my arm pit.

“-Monika?”

Just because she doesn’t look particularly evil, doesn’t mean that she isn’t.

“-Why does everyone think we’re working together?”

“-Do They?”

-I made a mistake-

“You tell me. Where is this?”

-Don’t read too much into it.

“Welcome to the Lost Data”.

“-Okay, And how do you know me?”

“-Apparently the C.G. was ranting infuriatedly about how ‘Someone’s going around stealing all MY Tokens-‘, and she had an epiphany”.

“‘She’?”

“Kerrie”.

“Ugh”.

-Always has to have her hand in everything, does she?

I hadn’t met her long, and I didn’t appreciate what she’s done.

“-Is she here too?”

“No”.

“Good”.

I look at her pointedly.

“You sent the pouch”.

“Yeah-“

“How did you do that”.

“I traced the Token Essence”.

“-You did what-!?”

“You heard me right”.

She grins, and it’s meant to be sweet.

“But how-“

“Off of you”.

“Me-“

“Uh-huh”.

She steps closer.

“I traced the Staff’s Energy to you, first, and then it was a slice of dessert from there”.

She blinks.

“I almost forgot- the Collector’s  really  unhappy with you taking out her Servant like that-“

“Servant?”

“Poor Alice . . .”

She sighs.

“Not to mention you causing Delta to disappear right before her very eyes-you’d better watch yourself from now on”.

-I think the girl is better off dead, then.

As for the other-

She may be alive, but I bet she wishes she wasn’t.

Besides that, I’m still processing the fact I was tracked-

“-Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why go through the trouble to find me?”

“Well I was hoping we could be an alliance-“

“No”.

You must be even more out of your mind than I am!!

“Why would I ever work with  you!?”

“You have one left, right?”

“Meaning-“

“One more Token, and then the Cursed God can be destroyed for good”.

“-Even if that’s true, what do you-“

“My Search Engine can help with that”.

“-Sorry, you’ll have to bribe someone else”.

I huff-

Like I’m going to mess up my chances now.

“-What if I said I could bring back everyone who’s dead?”

“You can’t”.

“-If you die, you go straight to Purgatory. Then you come back, and it’s the  second  death that’s final”.

“-Didn’t seem to help Alice, any”.

And it wouldn’t help the four trapped in that house, either.

“Well no duh-“

She shrugs.

“She’s probably herself again”.

-of course.

I smile-

“-I’m afraid you’re a bit too late, then-“

-I-almost told her where they were-

Phew.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, they’re liable to have rescued themselves-they’ve done it before”.

“...”

That ought to have satisfied her......

“I guess they have”.

“-You need me about as much as I need you”.

“Hmm . . . “

She has a thoughtful look on her face.

What is she planning-

“I don’t know about that. After all,  I  may not need you, but they will”.

-Wait.

“You went and found nearly all of them yourself, they’ll  have  to come for you eventually”.

-Wait a minute-

“You’re not-saying-“

“Well why not”.

She sounds entirely too relaxed.

“I’ve got you here-“

“-I can leave just as fast”.

-But there’s no door.

“-You really can’t”.

Wires stretch toward me-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Computer might be out for a bit, my ‘e’ quit, so yay, new format!!


	10. Non-Technological Behavior (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monika’s found the perfect bait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Slight language, phys. attack. Brief sharp object.

-My arm is snagged.

“No-“

While I pull on that, I stomp on another.

“You do realize you can’t get out of here without me”.

“-What makes you think they’ll _actually_ show up!?”

I feel a pressure around my leg-

Another wire’s looped itself around my other shoulder, and I kick at it.

“You haven’t even been around-!!”

“I know they’ll want to settle the score eventually. And when that happens-“

-A  ** shock **

I blink stars out of my eyes.

“I wouldn’t pull on those if I were you”.

I glare-

“I’m just saying”.

Another shock.

Stronger than the first.

I stop moving.

“-Are you really going to let me go if they come here?”

“As far as I can tell, you’re not one of her friends, right? And it’d help me a lot if I didn’t have a tentacled rival running around”.

“Yes or no”.

“-Naturally, I mean yes”.

Doesn’t make me any less thrilled to be a part of it.

-And on that note, can you kill a program?

Is that a thing that is?

When I get down there, I’m going to-!!

“-Wow”.

The annoying voice.

“You caught him”.

“Kerrie-“

“Hi Moni”.

“Don’t call me that”.

-Can I snatch one of her knives?

“Huh”.

She walks over.

“You’re more...banged-up, than I remember”.

“You’re a disheveled mess”.

“Aw, thank you, it’s all your fault”.

She sniffs-

“Collecty took a page from your book, and dumped us in another universe for a while”.

“It didn’t stick”.

“Nah-“

“Of course not”.

“I call this ‘karma’”.

She cackles.

-Until I take her knife.

“Ah-“

She catches my wrist-

“You’re sly, but not sly enough”.

I try to hang onto it, I can’t-

My arm is stuck at a weird angle and my-hand-hurts-

“That’s my job”.

She grins, but it’s more like she’s baring her teeth.

“Said who”.

“ME”, she spits, “That’s who!”

I roll my eyes-

“Give me a little respect!”

I ‘respectfully’ kick her into the table-

“Moni-“

“Oh you’re not dead”.

Shame.

“I  can’t die”.

“Why not”.

“Memes”.

“. . .Why not”.

“Because I don’t  _ wanna _ !!”

“Mmhm”.

-I kick her over again.

“

“I can do this all day”, I cheerfully inform her, “Can you?”

“Don’t be a Karen, Ghost!!!”

“Who the h* is Karen?”

“-As entertaining as that is-“

A wire around my free limb.

“There we go”.

I shift uncomfortably, seething.

“Okay-“

“Wait, who is Ghost, though?”

“I don’t think anyone has a real clue except maybe Alice”.

Monika shrugs.

“And she just came back from having her brains rearranged, so-“

“That’s a mood”.

I’d like to rearrange both of theirs.

I want to get these off-

What if I cause-some kind of outage-

-But I can barely move.

Plus, if I manage to collapse everything into a void-

Who’s to say-

The past shouldn’t be allowed to repeat itself.

Kerrie keeps well out of range this time.

I swallow frustration-

I might not be lucky enough to land in that house.

“-Should I tell Cursey we strung up his headache?”

“-Maybe later”.

“-Okaaay-“

She flops into a chair, and spins, and spins around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp . . .


	11. Where Is Alice?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A couple familiar faces are about to return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Talk of death. Vertigo. Memory trouble. Brief violent action.

………?

What happened-

My head hurts. . . . . .

I lift myself to an elbow.

I feel like I’ve just shaken awake from a nasty fog-

What did she do to me!?

I can’t-really remember-

I’m lying in a bed.

I must have collapsed-

-I have to find the others!!

I sit up-

I flop back down.

My head spins.

Ugh. . .

How-

I just randomly get hit with a dizzy spell out of nowhere-

I press a hand to my forehead.

Ouch….

I wait until I’m no longer imminently in danger of falling straight onto the floor.

-Okay.

Now what?

I sit up.

I know the way out-

It’s that tune, from Doki Doki.

I try to remember how it goes-

My fingers plunk keys.

A second later, and I’m peeking into the secret tunnel.

The darkness is making me sick again.

-She has that Soul Jar.

I have to get out-

I steel myself, then crawl through on shaky hands.

The hallway’s empty.

Good-

-I get grabbed immediately.

I react-

The Sorceress hisses as I cave her shin.

“Watch it!”

“-Sorry-”

I didn’t know it was you-

“It’s about time we found one of you”.

“-The others are here!??”

It’s almost too good to be true-!

“Where are they!?”

“I don’t know”.

She huffs.

“I was killed by an unseen force, but apparently, this place revived me”.

“Killed!?”

“Yes-”

Her eyes flash in anger.

“When I find the one responsible they’re going to wish they were never _born”._

Woah, okay-

I grimace.

“Well, I found something-”

“What?”

I direct her to where I last saw it.

“A Soul Jar, indeed”.

She sniffs.

“Recognize any of them?”

“Um-”

I shudder.

“I can’t be sure, but-”

-Clomping footsteps.

“We have to go!!”

“Right”.

She knocks on the glass.

The green forces trapped inside swirl-

“We must tell the others about this immediately”.

“Yeah”.

-And we slip out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who are the Souls? I wonder.


	12. Non-Technological Behavior (3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The house of cards is steadily falling in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No cw's, I think?

I tuned them out ages ago.

I can’t even tell how long it’s been-

Monika powered up her screen, and she’s been using it to spy on them ever since.

Boring-

Boring-

Boring-

-Wait, that’s-!!

A duo of glass exhibits.

Lauren and Jc-

Because they didn’t die in Purgatory, my mind reminds me.

That must be it-

-No doubt, they’ll be found eventually.

Or not…

Either way, it doesn’t really matter.

Nothing I can do about it, from where I am-

My left arm went numb.

The wire cut into my shoulder, and now here we are.

-I didn’t want to end up in this position again!!

-I’d kick the wall, if I could.

The fact that I can’t even move-

Last time I had  _ forever  _ to escape.

Things could go wrong here in a matter of seconds.

D* it all-!!

If I’m supposedly ‘giving off energy’, isn’t there any way I could manipulate it!?

I see nor feel anything.

-Someone flashes by on the monitor.

. . .Cyrille?

She wasn’t around for very long when I saw her last-

She’s still directing things to be moved around.

Including a bigger screen-

Who  _ is  _ John Mulaney, anyway?

-His famous routines aren’t famous to me.

-!

But a screen needs speakers, doesn’t it?

And speakers can be plugged in or bluetooth.

There’s no question the Collector would be strongly against anything tech. . .but a closed circuit might be permitted?

-Unless Cyrille came up with that on her own not knowing about Monika.

I don’t have enough knowledge about her circumstances to say for sure. . .and how would I even take advantage of that anyway, I’d just lead them  _ right  _ to Mystic-

I try to shift my right arm into a better angle.

Before that one goes numb.

I need more ideas-

I need-

I wonder if I can climb up these?

-No, I’d just be shocked…

-The screen changes.

What I wouldn’t give to mess around with it for five minutes alone-

“-Hey, his eyes turned red”.

That darned clown-

“What does that mean-”

“It’s okay, if he tries anything at all, he’ll be run through with a thousand volts”.

-I’m already  _ aware  _ of that-

“You sure?”

“Oh yeah”.

She’s typing away-

“I did a little digging on who he resembles. We’re gonna be fine”.

-Excuse me, you did WHAT!?

I rattle furiously-

“What did you find out!? Tell me now-”

Sparks play along the wires, preparing to get worse if I push.

“How did you even-”

“To be honest, we thought you were Candy Pop at first-”

“I-do I  _ look  _ like-!??”

-Am I going to be _ permanently _ stuck in his annoying shadow!?!?

“From there, it was easy”.

“. . .”

-I’m so angry, I have no thoughts, head empty.

“Tell. Me”.

-Except that.

“-Where’s the ‘please’?” Kerrie grins-

I am NOT in the mood.

“You can go to-!!”

“I have a Summer Home down there”.

. . . .

-What.

“So do my Clones”.

“-You made that last part up”.

“ _ Soon,  _ I will have Clones”.

“-Are you two done sniping at each other?”

Monika looks like she can’t be bothered.

“The point is, we have nothing to worry about”.

-I want to prove them wrong, but they’re right…

Wait.

Could my venom-

But it might  _ shock me!! _

-Even getting myself knocked unconscious wouldn’t work for I’m not connected to the Dreamworld.

“What did you learn about me!?”

The girl smiles.

“Everything”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They say you can find anything on there.


	13. Non-Technological Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Upheaval.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Abandonment worries, being used/manipulated, etc. Fantasy violence. Slight language. Vertigo. Death threat.

“-So what”.

I gulp in air-

“You could’ve found the wrong information”.

“It’s been pretty effective so far”, Monika counters.

-I hate that I have to agree…

“You’ll slip up”.

“No...I don’t think so”.

She turns back to the monitor, flipping through screens-

“They might make good hostages”.

“-This is what you meant by ‘becoming the Collector’?”

“Why not?”

She inputs a few commands-

ERROR

Ha.

“Ow-”

She falls backwards, arm scalded.

“Still can’t get past that?”

“Not yet”.

She wets her lips.

“Not unless we manage to secure some kind of pathway-”

She looks toward me.

“-Bold of you to assume I’ll betray anyone”.

“You’re in no position to be refusing”.

“-Oh no?”

But I know she’s right. . .

“As soon as you turn me loose, I could disappear. And you’d lose your leverage. You’re too smart to risk that, aren’t you?”

“-I’m so glad you pointed that out”.

-Why do I get the feeling that didn’t go the way I want?

The wires lower me down.

She hits a few more keys.

ERROR.

“Hmph-”

“I could take him”.

“-Like I’d let you lay a hand on me!”

“Don’t start”, Monika interrupts.

I massage my sleeping arm-

Kerrie hooks my other one.

“Come on, come on, I’ll bring you  _ right  _ to the boss-”

I stomp on her foot.

“OWW-”

“Don’t grab me, then”.

Her own arm turns into a python, and constricts.

I give her a dead glare.

“You’re the pain here, not me”.

“That’s a matter of opinion-”

“Stop snarking here, and move this. . .whatever you’ve got going on to Purgatory”.

Monika snarks.

-I remember how much I despise it.

Land of the Undeath-

“Fun, isn’t it?”

She jars my ribs, and I don’t answer.

The forest at the very edge of the exhibit with jewels is where we are-

“Don’t be so uptiiiight-”

I keep glaring at her-

“Any ideas?”

“No”.

“Aw, that’s cute. You think you can avoid being a traitor-”

I  **_shove_ ** her.

She stumbles a few feet-

-I’m pulled along as well.

“Don’t be stupid”.

All the useless humor fades from her tone.

“I  **will** hurt you if you continue to be difficult”.

“-I’d rather be hurt”.

She blinks.

What did she think I would respond with?

I kick at her shins-

“Will you  _ quit  _ that-!??”

“Leave me alone”.

“No”.

-She shoves  _ me. _

I feel my back hit a tree-

I can’t-breathe-

The side I broke  _ aches  _ again. . . . . . . . .

A black haze swims over my eyes.

“I didn’t want to have to be serious with you buddy, but you’ve been trying me too, too much”.

I might-switch over-

“Either you-”

She notices.

“Don’t you be pulling an ego swap, like your friend Candy Pop”.

. . . .He’s not my friend-

“ _ I’m  _ the one in control”.

I can’t-maintain it-!

I can barely see-

“That’s better”.

The pressure on me releases, and I drop to the ground, coughing.

“You don’t even have to do anything other than stick to Mystic and the others like glue”.

I . . .  **hate** . . . you . . .

“I know, I know…”

She keeps  _ talking. _

“As long as you don’t get caught, you’ll allow us to move in and out as we want, for anything we want”.

And  _ talking. _

“-I won’t-do it-”

“No problem. We’ll just drag you under, and they’ll leave you behind because they think you’ve betrayed them. It’s no big deal-”

“You don’t-you don’t know that-”

My fists clench.

I am going to  **break her neck-**

“Your power has to run dry sometime!!!”

She leans over.

“Nooo~”

-My fingers close around her wind pipe.

She laughs, despite that-

I’m motivated to squeeze.

I don’t care  _ how  _ rubber she becomes.

I am  **done-**

“Kerrie-!!”

-Who in-

Some guy, looking like an actor stalks over-

Oh wait, it’s  _ him. _

“Hey boss,  _ I found-” _

I clamp both hands over her mouth.

Her teeth crunch my fingers.

-But I hang on anyway.

It’s painful, I can’t allow him to be told-

“What the heck are you two doing!?”

Both eyebrows are raised.

“Some kinky s*??”

“-I could do  _ so  _ much better than her!”

-How low is your bar set!?

Her foot kicks into  _ my  _ shin.

Because I can do only a few things at once, I fall-

I pull  _ her  _ down with me.

She claws at my hands-

He sighs, and waves.

An invisible force tears us apart-

Wonderful, they’re bleeding.

“-Who  _ are  _ you?”

Red blotches on his face-

“You  _ tricked us-!!” _

“You fell for it”.

“-He’s a hypocrite”, Kerrie explains away-

“You still fell for it-”

“I know his name”.

“Don’t you  _ dare  _ say anything!!”

“-Well  _ I  _ want to know”, the C.G. insists-

“You’ve come back here!?!”

-And now we have the Collector.

What kind of luck is that-

“Hi!”

Kerrie flaps her arm like it could detach at any moment.

“I know who the Ghost is-”

“Do you”.

Barely-disguised loathing in her gaze.

“She does  _ not!” _

I start for her-

My feet crackle in place-her  _ Staff- _

“She is  _ not  _ a reliable source!!”

“I haven’t even spoken yet!!!”

“You’re a Clown working for a deluded idiot, everything that comes out of your  _ mouth  _ is unreliable!!!”

“Hey! I take offense to that-”

His irises crackle.

“Enough”.

The Collector’s voice cuts through.

“But-”

“You are in  _ my  _ Museum-!!”

While they’re arguing I strain to move my legs.

Come on-

“Psst-”

I look for the sound.

An old man in gray robes is carrying a big knife-

I blink.

-He throws it at me.

I fumble it away from my chest, and stick it into the ground.

-It happens….

He internally face-palms, and mutters something about Tik-Tok.

The Collector sees it, and grows pale-

I yank it, sending a spray of dirt everywhere.

He sputters-why didn’t you  _ get out of the way- _

I swivel, and attempt to stab her with it.

It collides with her Staff-

-

I’m on the grass.

I lift myself up onto an elbow-

I rub my eyes.

What happened-

C.G. and Kerrie are leaning over someone.

A good ten yards away.

It must be her.

The competing energies must have exploded.

-I will never have a better chance.

I scramble upright-

Spots-

Not now!

-She might have already told him.

My body freezes.

I didn’t tell it to do it, it just does it.

They both look up at the same moment-

For the first time  _ ever  _ since this whole disaster started, I don’t know what to-

“You!!”

Echoes-

I have to go.

I don’t want to be a traitor-

But where-

“Whose side are you on!?”

“-Not yours-”

Shadows come flying toward me.

“-Yeah, no duh”.

They whip my hair into my face.

“-Do you want Monika here!?”

Kerrie’s jaw  _ drops. _

“Because the longer I stay, the longer she can use me to get to  _ her-” _

“Her?”

“Who are you obsessed with 24/7 of every day!?”

He gasps.

“Are you working with h-”

“NOOO”.

I am sick and tired of people assuming that!!!!

“Would I be telling you if I was!??”

“How do I know how you work!? You  _ tricked  _ me-”

Then it dawns on him-

“-Wait,  _ you have my Tokens!!!” _

Son of a-

“I’ve got it, boss-”

If looks could kill I would be dead.

I keep a firm grip on the pouch-

They latch onto me.

“Let go-did you miss what I said-!?”

I won’t be able to unhook my grip later.

“Oh I heard you. . . . . .”

I struggle to shake them off-

“But I’ll be d*ned if I allow you to run and get the Last One, on me”.

“She’ll just bring me back!”

I can feel the world shifting-

“Will she?”

My head-

“You-You haven’t met her-”

Hands reach through and grasp my arms-

“I’ll just have to destroy the connection then”.

-What does he have in mind!?

“What are you going to do--”

_ Cold. _

I’m

  
  
  
  


-For Hea-H*’s sake, where am I now!??

-The pouch, do I still have it-!??

No no no, not after all of that-

All those others lost for nothing.

I wouldn’t care if it didn’t mean-

“Kerrie ran off with that”.

“She did”.

I feel numb in my chest.

“She ran away with it-”

I don’t know where she stands with him.

She could scatter them all again-

Or she could keep them to stab him in the back later.

-More likely she’s taking them to Monika. . .

He doesn’t have a clue about  _ their  _ little alliance.

And she can’t pull out the one from my hand-

Speaking of-

What’s that?

An iron bracelet-

I pull at it-

-I get shocked.

“Ow!”

“Why the heck are you surprised?”

“What is this for-”

“It blocks you from being affected by magic or. . .’tech’ whatever, except for mine”.

That is slightly a relief.

Except.

I can’t get them back.

I can’t even leave here-

“-I don’t want to work for you”.

“-You sold out Monika”.

“I was never working for her”.

The accusation hits harder than it should have.

I get up from the chair. . .

The world spins.

_ “I don’t want to work for you”. _

How do I get it off of me!??

-But then Monika will just-

I can’t believe I’m stuck in a corner.

“You don’t have to do much-”

“I am NOT helping you”.

“Then you’ll have to die. Twice”.

That gives me  _ some _ pause. . . . . 

Would I still end up in Oblivion?

-There has to be a way out….

A loophole,  _ something-!! _

I physically move him from my face-

“You’re too close”.

“So what’s your answer?”

“I’ll think about it”.

I speed up.

I am-dizzy-

I press a hand to my forehead-

Where’s the door-!?

“Think about it?”

Footsteps coming up behind me-

“So you’ll do it?”

“No”.

Found it.

Locked.

“I don’t know”.

Let me out-

“Well which is it?”

I smacked at the knob with my bracelet.

Sparks flew-

What-n-

My arm lowered like a puppet’s!??

“I told you-you’re still affected by  _ my  _ magic”.

-I punch the door.

A crack forms.

“Woah-don’t vandalize the place-”

“You’re lucky it isn’t  **_you!!”_ **

The knob’s been knocked aside.

I grab it, and yank the door open roughly.

“So-”

I slam it in his face.

  
Then I  _ run. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> C.G. may want to watch out-


	14. Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look Cyrille, it's you!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Sharp objects, brief puppetry. Arguing, kinda? Phys. slapping and blood. I do not condone any of this.

-Was he expecting that or not?

-I don’t have time to wonder-

I need to ditch the bracelet, get the last Token, catch up with Kerrie-

Not necessarily in that order-

Oh yes.

And I also need to extract that essence.

I rub my forehead.

My headache is increasing (if I didn’t have one by now already).

-If there’s a way to make her forget what she learned, I’d love to do that, too…

I don’t even know where the last one is.

-I should just keep a running list of things that have to be done-

-Where did that sword end up?

That might be able to cut it loose-

But it’s magical.

So then what.

I might be able to get rid of it with something else.

Those jewels looked hard enough.

I peek into the nearest room.

Cyrille’s with her back to me-

I don’t want to disturb her-

A force is pulling at me.

I try to resist-

I’m not returning.

No way-

Distraction-fast-!

“-What’s this?”

She jumps out of her shoes. Literally.

“UM-!??”

She turns around to see me-

“-Are you a visitor-”

“I was nearby…”

-It’s getting stronger…

“You wouldn’t happen to have anything sharp on you?”

“No-?”

“That’s a shame-”

“Why-”

“It’s very chaotic around here”.

“Really?”

She sounds genuinely surprised by this.

“I haven’t heard a thing-”

“It would be great, if I could remove a certain bracelet”.

And I show her.

“Wow, where’d you-”

“The C.G.”

“-Aw, that guy?”

“Yes-”

“Man, he’s everywhere!”

“No kidding”.

-I’m not sure how bad the shocks could become.

“Any ideas?”

“Shoot, you got me. . .”

“-Well you must have  _ something  _ lying somewhere-”

“-Magic?”

“That won’t do it”.

I grit my teeth.

“-How did you end up here anyway?”

“Some clown kidnapped me and Delta right when we were in the middle of some memes”.

I-

“Right. . . . .”

I grimace.

“Okay new plan. I’m going to have to break one of your things-”

“-Wait, WHAT!?”

“It’s just a bracelet, it won’t be able to withstand glass-”

“I had my things conjured out of nothing!!”

“Is there anything anywhere that  _ isn’t  _ conjured?”

“Don’t ask me-”

“You’re the only one I have  _ time  _ to talk to!”

I can hear him coming.

“Listen, I know what happened to your friend. I know how you can get there”.

“-She got taken by the Collector-”

“She’s not with her anymore”.

“Wh-!?”

“I’ll explain, we only need a mirror-”

“A what!? Why-”

“Don’t ask me questions until we get there”.

“-You’re not just an ordinary visitor, who  _ are _ you!?”

“-A Ghost. Now come on-”

-I practically drag her away by the arm.

It takes some wandering but I do find one.

“-Can I ask questions yet-”

“Ask whatever you want”.

“Are you dead?”

“No”.

“What happened to Delta!?”

“She was kidnapped by some woman in a house”.

“That’s-that’s real specific there-”

“Mention a woman with button-eyes. You’ll be directed there in no time, probably-”

“Probably?”

“I’ve never done it before-”

“And you want ME to do it!??”

“It’s not liable to break on  _ you-” _

_ “Break-!??” _

“You’re not evil, and/or a Demon?”

“And you are-!??”

“Close enough”, I mutter.

“Hurry it up, those guards might see-”

“They  _ still  _ haven’t dabbed yet?”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“-It’s an ETN reference-”

“I don’t watch that”.

“You’re really missing out”.

“No-I don’t think so”.

I poke her ahead.

“Hurry”.

“I’m goin’, geez-”

She slips her arm inside.

“AAAAH, that feels weird-”

“At least it doesn’t hurt”.

“What in the heck happened to you?”

-That one.

Actually sounds concerned.

“-I don’t know”.

She slides in her other arm.

“I just know if no one goes for them-”

“Them!? There’s  _ more-” _

“Yes, there’s more. She likes games, if you do that, you’ll surely get them out-”

“How do you-”

“Because I was there”.

I draw in a breath.

“Just go-”

She steps inside-

I lightly push her the rest of the way, then punch the glass.

It would have cracked anyway, I felt it splinter-

What I’ve  _ been  _ doing is highly out of step.

And I know it is.

But I don’t want to waste my regret on it.

I pick up an exceptionally long piece from the floor, and tear right through the rubber.

Sparks crackle, and my arm  _ stings- _

I wince.

Burn marks.

It could be worse.

Now.

Kerrie.

How do I.

Attract her-

“. . .

Killer Kerrie,

Killer Kerrie,

Killer Kerrie-”

“YOU CALLED-!??”

She stares at me.

“Wh-”

“-Wow, really”.

I can’t help but feel a little disgusted.

“That’s all it took?”

“Don’t look at me like that-it works for you too!”

“It  _ wouldn’t  _ have-”

“Well it does  _ now-” _

“What did you do with the Tokens?”

“Moni’s hanging onto them? What do you  _ think  _ happened?”

I calm myself before I yell  _ every  _ name in the book at her.

“Of course”.

“Of course what?”

She blinks her eyelashes-

“Of course  _ you would do something like that”. _

I sigh, exasperated-

“However, I think it would be better to neutralize the Cursed God before you start stealing hostages”.

“Eh? You have a plan-”

“It’s a matter of convenience. You remember what I told him, correct?”

-I’m slapped.

Again.

I almost fall-

That is  _ three- _

I rub my cheek.

“-I didn’t ask for that-”

“You kinda did”.

“No I did  _ not”. _

“-You’re making this harder!!”

“Harder?”

It dawns on me.

Because he knows, he can actively get in their way.

They have no choice but to let me do as I please-

Unfortunately, it also means I might be stuck working with them after all in the bargain.

-Which I  _ didn’t  _ want.

“-Too late”.

“Humph”.

I spit blood.

“Take me to Monika”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Off on other paths.


	15. Kerrie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is almost it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Slight language, creepy, stalking behavior, blood. Talk of death. Eating.

-To her credit, she does  _ not  _ look happy.

“You-are a-”

“Nice to see you too”.

“He stinking sold us out”.

“-I wasn’t working for you”.

“And you are now?”

“No. . .”

My eyes scan the…’room’.

“Where is the pouch”.

“-Why?”

“Cursey knows about us”.

“Oh. . .”

She grows quiet.

Can’t mean anything good-

“-You still need us to find it”.

“Then find it”.

My headache’s turning into a migraine.

“-I’d need to process one”.

“-Do whatever you have to”.

She takes one, the Butterfly.

Data lines run over it.

The ones and zeroes turn golden.

The screen turns blue-

“-Is that supposed to happen?” Kerrie asks-

“Yeah”.

The image snows.

“-That almost came through-”

She dismisses it.

“-Just wait a few minutes”.

A few minutes later.

Mention the Yellow Sponge-

“-What  _ is  _ that?”

I have to squint to make it out.

“Looks like the Boss’s castle”.

“-Really?”

How can she tell that from a grainy, black blob?

“Makes sense”.

Monika shrugs.

. . . . . I mean, if you think about it-

The safest place for anything is in the most-obvious place.

No one ever sees it coming-

“Alright. . . . .”

I give Kerrie a pointed look.

“You know how to get there-”

“Don’t I”.

Fits him.

Gothic.

Tentacle-headed statues.

A dank atmosphere, hard to breathe in.

Just like his usual presence.

She links arms.

I glare at her-

“I’m so glad I don’t have to work with you for very long-”

“Same”.

I  _ wholeheartedly  _ agree.

-Now if I were a Deity with a Love Complex, where would I put the one thing that could definitely kill me.

I try to avoid her feet-

“-Man, Staff’s really been slackin’”.

No comment.

-Something whirs off in the distance?

“-Probably the empty coffee grinder again-”

“Why do you have a coffee grinder?”

“Why not?”

-I can’t argue with that. . .

We pass his empty throne.

It’s like the entire structure is just-deserted-

“They’re all over at Purgatory now”.

“Makes sense……”

The torches flicker ominously.

“Give me an idea of the layout, what’s it like?”

“Huge”.

“-Okay, but how huge-”

“W-e-e-e-ll. . .”

She grins at me.

“Several floors, not a lot of time”.

“. . . . . . . .”

I have nothing to say to that.

We keep walking-

“Do you actually have a destination in mind?”

_ “You’re  _ the Smarty-Pants. You tell me”.

“-It’d be just like you to lead me around in circles”.

“Is that your final answer?”

“No”.

I let out a breath.

“-Does he have any Stalker Shrines in here?”

“Ahh. . .you’ve caught on”.

-To be honest, I should have realized it earlier.

I don’t-know how this ‘power’ of hers works?

I only know that she can apparently stick her  _ fingers  _ through the keyhole, and pick it open  _ that  _ way.

“What’s the matter? Never seen a nail before?”

-Yes, because that’s  _ exactly  _ what’s strange about all of this.

She cracks the door a hair.

“Hasn’t changed. . . .”

“It’s not that surprising”.

I peer over her shoulder.

The miasma is. . . _ obnoxious. _

I nearly sway on my feet-

“Wh-What scent-”

“Peppermint”.

She shrugs, and moves in.

I follow her-

-Don’t faint.

Ugh. . .talk about rose-colored glasses. . . . . .

And it’s worse than I thought:

The blue roses are fine, but everything else is disgusting.

-For one fact, these love letters are terribly written.

For another, how did he procure samples of her  _ hair- _

Her clothes, even her  _ prescription is here. _

Blood in a vial, and a bunch of fairy tales.

And the dress-

And the unicorn figurines.

‘Innocence’ wouldn’t be a bad concept on its own, but I think it’s been ruined for everyone forever.

_ Forever. _

“Hasn’t updated it in a while”, she notes.

“. . . . . . . .”

The walls are pink and hurt my eyes.

I check the Mark.

No reaction. . . .

I was sure it’d be here.

“Found it~?”

“There must be more to this”.

“There isn’t~”

“Why, do you spend as much time in here as he does?”

“-On your A-game for the snarks, huh?”

“Don’t act like you don’t do it either”.

“Ehhhh. . .fair”.

-Yeah, you better agree with me….

I start knocking on the walls.

“What are you doing?”

“Testing if they’re hollow”.

“-Oh”.

-They aren’t.

“Anywhere else?”

“Mm. . .there  _ might  _ one other-”

“Which is?”

“Come on, come on. . .you’re gonna  _ love  _ this”.

Her beckoning finger doesn’t promise anything good.

I was right-

“Pretty, ain’t it?”

“She’d like it as much as a bird loves a cage”.

Or a fish loves a tank. . .

Everything is white.

It’s a padded cell, except the padding actually looks nice.

“She would live here?”

“He’d visit”.

“-Uh-huh”.

I lean over the roses.

“Good luck getting her to stay there-”

They erupt with blue powder in my face.

I cough-

“Aw, look, you’re all glittery~”

“Shut. Up”.

I furiously brush sparkles out of my retinas.

“A Demonic Disco Ball”.

“Come closer-I’ll make you one, too!”

“-Nah, I’m good”.

She shuffles out the door awfully quickly-

I blow stray dust off of me.

“-Why does it smell so. . . _ Holy?” _

“It’s an Angel Bath. Duh!”

I side-eye her.

“It’s not for  _ you-” _

“You’re unpredictable”.

“-Accurate”.

She pulls the sheet off.

Even more whiteness?

I think it’s trying to burn my retinas  _ out. _

“It wouldn’t have worked anyway”.

“Yeah, yeah. . . .”

I wouldn’t be able to tell if I was detecting anything, it’s so-

“Trouble?”

“No”, I say flatly.

“There’s nothing here”.

I can feel her smirking.

The next section is full of mannequins.

“Didn’t finish his renovations, apparently”.

“Who?”

“The Dollmaker”.

Can’t be the one  _ I’ve  _ heard of.

“Do they move?”

“Only when you’re not looking-”

“Haha. Funny”.

-The floor cracks under our feet.

“Huh-”

“I  _ told  _ you-!!”

-She speeds ahead.

Wh-!?

I speed up-

Every column within a five-mile radius collapses.

“KERRIE-”

“WHAT”.

I dodge being impaled by a fallen candlestick.

“I hate you”.

“-You screamed in my ear to tell me  _ that-” _

She leaps over a rolling table.

“Yes”.

Several falling busts later, and we’re more-or-less. . .un-squashed.

Green light.

It’s brighter than Purgatory’s but I can see why they ‘get along’ so well.

The trees are half-dead.

“Welp. . .”

Kerrie wrings her sleeves.

“That was fun”.

“Anywhere  _ else?” _

“One-track mind, much?”

“Do you want him to get there first, or not?”

“-You know what I hate?”

“What?”

“How  _ driven  _ you are”.

-The usual humor is gone from her tone.

It’s barely even a mutter.

“Someone has to be. . . .”

I sweep over the outer walls.

“If it’s not in there, it must be under. Or above-”

“People  _ use  _ those towers”.

“So it’s below then”.

She just grumbles something under her breath.

I get down, and look for cellar windows-

“Hey genius”.

“What-”

She thumps on a garden statue.

“This look familiar to you?”

-I saw that at the dinosaur pit.

The Octopus Head-

Hmm. . .

My hands hover over it for a second, before I quickly back up.

A long, metal tongue extends.

“-You lived”.

She sounds disappointed.

-I ignore her, and keep looking-

A rose carving on the side.

-He only likes them because  _ she  _ does.

I clamp my fingers over it.

-It does nothing.

What a relief.

I twist it.

The ground I’m standing on, rumbles-

“Woah-”

The whole thing sinks.

He has tunnels-under-

-Don’t-fall-!!

As soon as everything is steady, I wait for my sideways vision to adjust.

-Kerrie leaps into the hole.

“You found it. Bravo-”

“I don’t need your fake claps”.

“I-” she sputters, “Was I-I hadn’t even-!!”

I roll my eyes-

-It’s so  _ cold. _

I shiver-

It better be at the end.

It better not  _ reseal itself  _ while we’re busy-

-That thought threatens to bring up panic, so I forget it.

A big pit.

-How anti-climactic.

But she’s acting like it’s the most horrifying thing in the world.

“What-are you  _ stupid!?” _

I blink.

“It’s just dark energy”.

It crackles like a flame.

“It won’t hurt us”.

“It can still  _ eat you!!” _

“Not even you can escape?”

She frowns.

“-Thinkin’ of backstabbing me, are you?”

“No”.

The edges of the well aren’t giving me any hidden pockets.

There  _ were  _ alcoves, but those are filled with skulls-

“You know this room”, I conclude.

“Brilliant deduction Sherlock”, she mocks, “What are you gonna do about it?”

“Depends”.

I turn to her.

“If it’s  _ not  _ here, and it’s  _ not  _ in the castle, then either it’s at the bottom where  _ no one  _ can get it. . .or  _ you  _ stole it off of him centuries ago”.

“-What?”

“You’re around him nearly every second of every day ETN and out. It would be stupendously easy for you, especially since after Season 3, when he was permanently downgraded into a lovestruck fool”.

“-You have any proof to back that up?”

Her grin has returned.

I step well away from the fiery maw.

“-I know it can be done. I found a different Token that way”.

I should have realized it straight from the start.

“-I’ll bet that’s it right there”.

-She goes to check her pocket.

We  _ both  _ saw each other coming-

Her hand grips my wrist, as mine grips hers.

My nerves ache-

But it’s glowing, it’s golden, and it’s right there in her hand.

A Token with an octopus face on one side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She totally would, though-


	16. End Of Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A clash for the final time. (Probably).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Speaking of death, betrayal, and a phys. fight. Injury.

“Want a medal, detective?”

“Not really”.

I nod at the Token.

“You hanging onto this doesn't benefit anyone-except him”.

“That doesn’t mean I’m just gonna let you have it for free”.

“-Why am I not surprised”.

I grab her wrist with my other hand.

“-But I’ve had quite enough with the deaths, even if they  _ are  _ impermanent”.

“You?”

“You  _ know _ who’s going to get blamed-”

I’ll give you three guesses:

It’s me.

“‘Too late’ to get cold feet”.

“-Everyone who is left is overly-precious for you to kill”.

“I only want one-”

“And who would  _ that  _ be?”

“Your choice, sweetheart”.

She worms her way out-

“Dump somebody in the concoction over there, and I’ll give up my share”.

“No”.

“-No?”

“I don’t-”

“You already betrayed me-”

“I wasn’t on your side then-”

“So you are now?”

“I am not-”

“So you’re just using me? Is that it?”

“You’re using him. Monika’s using you”.

“Ah, yeah-but I could still leave you down here forever”.

“-What did you just say!??”

“Au revoir-”

She doesn’t get two steps before I have my elbow in her throat.

“You can’t kill me”, she croaks.

“You used up your Memes”.

I press-

“It  _ doesn’t matter”. _

-She sweeps my legs out from under me.

“You forgot  _ Ai Dungeon!!” _

-What the heck is that-!??

I get up-I block her strike.

“A  _ whole ‘nother  _ fountain of memes!!”

I push her off-

Her head rotates 360-degrees, as do her arms.

I duck under that.

-They still can’t last forever--

I catch her wrist, and turn-it-

The loud  _ crack  _ echoes.

-The Token bounces onto the floor…

She stares at me like she can’t believe I just did that.

I scrape it over to me with my foot.

I let go and pick it up.

This is the ideal right here-

“-You won’t betray them, will you”.

If she wants it, she’ll have to do it herself.

“You care about what they think of you too much”.

She  _ seethes  _ at me-

“Well am I wrong?”

-She doesn’t speak a single syllable.

And  _ my,  _ is it refreshing.

“-Even if you made me do it, they’d find out you put me up to it, anyway”.

-She lunges.

A grip on my shoulders-

“Just. Get.  _ Lost!!” _

I’m shoved outside.

As the Inner Sanctum corkscrews into position, she’s rubbing her forehead, and kicking the grass, and her behavior is  _ entirely  _ different now.

-Since her Token was surrendered willingly, I’m not sure I  _ need  _ a death for it.

So it’s just. . .the other half of the Flower Token, then…..

And the Token Essence.

And then they call all finally be destroyed.

-The head rush…

I almost wonder if I dreamed the entire journey up.

-My rib hurts from where she elbowed it.

Never mind.

The ground fades from beneath my feet.

“-That much closer?”

It’s Monika.

I’m floating in space-

But also, everything has been switched negative.

“Yes. . .”

“Good for you”.

“-Except”.

“Except?”

“One half of the Flower Token still must be. . .purified”.

“...”

I can see her . . . deliberating something.

“-No”.

“I didn’t even say it”.

“I know you want me to kill someone for you”.

“-It’d certainly be nice not to have a  _ conscience  _ over my shoulder”.

“Well too bad”.

I glare at her-

“My brand is not betraying people”.

“-Yeah, so you’ve said. . .”

She sighs.

“Many times”.

“-I’ll also have to remove the 8th Token from me”.

“Right...the Fatal One”.

“Those are the only pegs left holding his life together”.

“. . .I’ll see what I can do”.

“...”

-I would thank her, but I’m not thankful for this.

“Kerrie-”   
“What”.

-.

“-I wanted to ask about the Ace”.

“I don’t know anything about her”.

“Not even  _ you  _ know……”

“Can you blame me!? She’s creepy as f*!”

“Does the C.G. even know, then?”

“Why? You gonna ask him?”

“No-”

I’m not stupid-

“If she ever finds her way to us again-”

“I’ll deal with it”.

Tired.

“You’re the one with the sensitive crap, anyway. . . . . . . .”

“...That’s true”.

. . . . . . .What else must I find out here…….

“ _ Is  _ there anyone who could remove Token Essence?”

“Some spell”.

“-From who. . .?”

Gotta give me a little more-

“Beats me”.

She shrugs.

“That Token was supposed to go into Mystic.

‘Til you messed with it”.

I snort.

“-And you think  _ I  _ have audacity”.

I just can’t help but laugh.

“I don’t see what’s so funny”, she sniffs.

“You’re funny”.

I shake my head.

“-I suppose I’ll go through his files, then”.

“Good luck with that”.

I start off.

I skirt the fringes of the wreckage, and do my best to locate the Library.

-Archives.

Whatever.

-Oh.

That.

Is a  _ lot  _ of shelving.

It goes on for miles, and I can’t even find the ceiling.

Clearly. . .

I’m going to have a lot of work to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting closer and closer.


	17. Already Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's favorite wizard shows up to some unhappy news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Lots of talk of death. And murder.

-A spell.

That’s what she told me. . .

-But there are many, many books on spells.

Files.

Etc.

Why in the world don’t they know about the  _ one  _ thing that could ruin their carefully-made plans!?

That’s just bad villainy.

I run my fingers past the old spines.

Dust billows.

I back out of the cloud-

First powder, now this-?

I  _ still  _ have sparkles on me!

This isn’t Twilight-

I lost track of time already.

-I’m always losing track, but it’s worse than usual.

“-Hey”.

-Book shelves talk?

“Hey-you-”

-Where did the Wizard come from, and why does he have a Tik-Tok phone.

“Over here!”

He’s leaning out of a gap in-between one and the next.

“Merlin?”

“-Nice hit, by the way-”

“Thanks-how did you-”

“Magic”.

“............’Magic’?”

“Best excuse for everything!!”

“-You’re after me and not the others?”

“The Sorceress got up and stormed away! -You were closer”.

She’s going to be real happy when she finds out what happened. . . . . . . 

“Okay, but what do you want?”

“-I  _ saw  _ those golden gleams-”

He suddenly stops talking, looks one way, then the other.

-He beckons me through the gap after him.

“-You think I can  _ fit  _ through there!?”

“It’s not  _ that  _ bad”.

I huff-

But I duck.

Fit one arm in-

Then the other one-

. . . .I look up.

I  _ swear  _ he’s trying not to laugh at me-

I push through one leg.

-Then-the other one-

Ow-

I wobble into standing.

“-This better be worth the aches”.

“Trust me-it is”.

I eye him warily.

“-I have them all”.

“Y-You WHAT-”

“Don’t be so loud”.

I cringe-my ringing ears-

“Only one needs a death, the other just needs the Essence removed, and then I’ll-”

I blink.

“-I’ll probably chuck everything into a volcano, and call it satisfied”.

“You  _ really  _ found them all”.

-He doesn’t look as happy about it as I’d thought he would be?

“What’s wrong? Isn’t that what you want?”

“Well. . .yes-”

“-Wait, you’ve been around a while, do  _ you  _ know anyone who could deal with the 8th?”

“Yes. . .”

“Well who is it then?”

-His lack of reaction is puzzling to me.

“What is it?”

“-It’s not that”.

“What?”

I genuinely don’t know what there is to be upset over.

“-Pretty impressive.

You did this mostly by yourself?”

“Yes…?”

What is the matter with that?

“-Is it your mission to undertake?”

“-Is it?”

-I still have no idea what he’s implying.

“If it wasn’t, it’s a bit late to tell me”.

“-It’s never too late”.

“Sometimes, it is”.

I shrug.

“I know everyone has their reasons for wanting things the way they are, but what is there to do about it? It’s already been done. He’ll be gone, soon”.

“That’s true. If you continue on this road, he’s deader than a doornail for sure”.

“-Don’t forget, it’s a different universe”, I add, “Some things are bound to be ‘different’”.

“Even so”.

He sighs.

“-I could turn back time, you know. To before you took that Token and went off to do. . .all of it….”

“Why would I want that?”

“-You’ll have killed him, but you’re not the Protagonist. You can’t just appear out of nowhere, and take over”.

“-Who thinks in terms of ‘Protagonist’? I did this because no one else was doing it. I have no other motives”.

“Well even so, you’ve already gotten many people murdered, I’d imagine-”

“Purgatory exists. They’re fine”.

-Almost, all of them are fine.

“-The ones that aren’t have someone coming for them. It’s working out”.

“Isn’t it lucky”.

“Yes, it is”.

In addition:

“It wouldn’t change the fact someone already made it to the end”.

I draw in a breath-

“It’ll get out somehow-these things always do. Whatever damage I did. . .it’s already done, don’t you see that? There’s no use in trying to hide from it”.

He doesn’t speak for so long, I’m wondering if I broke him.

“....I thought you might reply that way. . . . .”

His eyes are huge and sad.

But. . . .

“Forgive me for saying it, but I don’t think you’ll be regarded too fondly”.

“I don’t care about that”.

-I don’t want to die, of course, but it’s not my priority, how I’m regarded.

I never had an intention of getting close, anyway……….

You’d think if it was going to backfire on me, it would have by now.

The fact that it hasn’t, is pretty telling.

“-Do you know who can remove the Token Essence?”

“I do. . .as I’ve said-”

“What’s the catch?”

“....Nothing. Just as you’re intending, to do nothing”.

He flaps his hand listlessly, and a book drops.

“Take it. . .I’d like to forget we ever had this conversation………..but I can’t”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a somber note.


	18. In Exchange For A Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What you want, is not so easy to get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Body horror? Paralysis, anxiety, panic, sensory deprivation, the dark, death, sharp objects, drinking things, isolation.

He sweeps his robes around himself and disappears.

. . . . .That could’ve ended...better. . .

Oh well.

I look down at the book in my hand.

At least I got what I came for.

I attempt to walk and read at the same time.

I don’t want to stay here a minute longer.

I feel data crackling around my toes-

“You found something?”

“Maybe. . . . . “

I still can’t believe I’m talking to her.

“We will see”.

I flip the pages.

“You better be sure they’re expecting you”.

“Meaning?”

I meet her eyes for an instant-

“Let’s just say, we were all prepared for Mystic”.

“You still are”.

“Mmhm….”

I don’t like the sound of that.

“-Was that Merlin I saw leaving?”

“Yes-”

“It didn’t go well, did it?”

“-What do you think?”

I shut the book.

“Watching people get taken right and left. . .you really expect me to just sit there and let it happen!??”

“-Clearly you haven’t”.

“Doing something is better than doing nothing. The entire world hinges on it, in case you forgot”.

I walk on ahead.

“-You still need me or Kerrie to reach them….whomever they are-”

“Don’t remind me”.

Hecate?

Who’s that?

I keep walking.

“This is painful enough already”.

“-Because people think we’re working together?”

“It’s  _ always  _ the first thing out of everyone’s mouths!!”

I whirl-

“-Kind-of what we’re doing now, isn’t it”.

-What-

I-

Can’t-

-She’s right………….

  
  


“-I knew you’d be coming eventually”.

The witch grins.

I don’t like it.

I don’t  _ like  _ what that implies-

“He’d be just another tentacled mess without me”.

“-It was you who came up with the Tokens...not him”.

“Well of course it was”.

She bows, am I supposed to be happy about this?

“She got away from me. What else was I to do?”

“Leave her alone”.

“.....................................No”.

She stalks towards me-

I wish I’d had fair warning I’d be alone with someone worse than  _ him. _

“No?”

“She was supposed to love him when I lured her in. That’s what we agreed upon. But it didn’t happen”.

“-Well of course not!”

I start backing away.

“Luring people in for that? It was bound to fail!”

“And you have them all”.

“-Why does it matter to you? What did he promise?”

“A Higher Power-a body to serve as Host. But it was never delivered”.

-She’s appraising me.

No-

No.

How do you kill a Witch!??

Set her on fire-

“Mm. . .not you…….”

Thank God.

(OW).

“-But I can’t let you kill him”.

She grabs my arm.

“It doesn’t-they’re not all powered yet-”

“Oh no?”

She pulls me closer-

“I see- _ this  _ one”.

“-Give that back!!”

I reach for the Flower Half.

“-No”.

-She crushes it.

Red dust trickles to the floor-

“N. . .no-”

“-I guess you’ll never be killing him”.

My heart thuds into my stomach.

“Y-you-”

She made them she’d be able to-to-

An icy sensation spreads from her grip.

“Let go of me!!”

I can’t accept it.

“LET GO-!!”

“It would’ve been fruitless anyway-”

I don’t want to hear it-

“I would’ve just made seven more. Or wait-”

My limbs are seizing up.

I fight her-

“I could just-imprison you-”

“No!!”

She starts to drag me deeper into her lair.

“And then it  _ wouldn’t even matter  _ that there are seven and a half Tokens”.

I don’t know where exactly she’s taking me, and I have no intention of finding out!!

I dig my heels into the floor-

She just chuckles.

-I think I’ve found someone I hate worse than Kerrie  _ and  _ C.G.  _ and  _ Monika combined.

My shoulder burns-

She threw me into a pole.

Cauldron, jars, books.

A  _ lot  _ of taxidermied animals.

Nothing I can use-

I strain to move.

I-can’t-

I sink to the ground.

The pins and needles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Hmm. . .”

She’s looking for-something-

“What should I turn you into?”

“N. . .nothing-!!”

“Very funny”.

I . .. … have to….stop her-

Somehow.

-If I could stop….shaking…. . . . . .

“-Ah”.

She pours green liquid into a cup:

Absinthe-?   
Some black. . .clumps-

Think, think-!!

Darn it, I  _ can’t move- _

A sprinkling of what looks like glitter.

And-

“Just one gulp”, she says-

Famous last words--

I’m not drinking that.

Her fingernails cup my chin-

I won’t do it I will not what’s going to happen to me!???

-Her eyes go wide, and she sags.

“M. . .Monika!?”

Rather than answer, she crouches to rescue what’s left of the drink.

She spills it into the woman’s mouth-

Makes her swallow.

A scaling rash creeps up her skin.

She morphs into a sleeping snake, in no time-

“-Should negate her magic, also”.

She helps me up-I can’t even stand on my own.

“. . . . . . The Tokens?”

“She destroyed one of the half Tokens”.

“Oh…”

She thinks.

“Which one was it? I could probably reconstruct it-”

“The-the Flower-”

“And the Essence?”

“I-I never got the chance-”

She sighs.

“I don’t know if that’ll work or not…...but I’m afraid like this. . .”

-My eyes widen.

“N-no…”

“There’s nothing we can do about it”.

“Nonono, don’t-don’t say that-”

I start to  **panic.**

“It’s all we can do. . .”

“Monika-”

“I’m sorry. . .”

My mind is slowly crumbling to pieces.

“At least he’ll be dead”.

“But-”

So will I.

  
  


They don’t know how to undo her other spell, either.

Doesn’t help that I keep tensing up in  **dread.**

Her 1’s and 0’s are painstakingly recreating the mirrored half-

Oblivion.

I’ll be trapped in Oblivion for eternity-

“It’s finished”.

-What? So soon-

It  _ can’t  _ be-

“You won’t feel a thing”, she promises me, “You’re hyped on enough adrenaline as is”.

It’s a nightmare, it can’t be happening, someone make it stop-!!!!!

Kerrie keeps staring at me.

Does it show on my face!??

They line up the Tokens in a semi-circle.

Each one of them glows-

I feel my hand ache.

It slowly spreads throughout my whole body.

I didn’t want this-!!

The clown pulls out a pink mallet.

“Alley-oop-!!”

She smashes one.

Two.

And a half.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven-

Colored beams spark out with each ending of a life force.

I feel the pain for each strike.

It- _ hurts- _

If my lungs weren’t compressed, I would-

“Alright!”

She spins her weapon around, and winces.

“-Brace yourself-”

There’s a jagged stake on the other end.

Agony rips through my chest.

  
  
  


. 

  
  


..

  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  


I open my eyes.

It is  **darker** than dark.

. . . .What-how-

-I flail-

I can’t see an inch in front of my face.

Where am I!?

What’s going on-!??

Hello-? Is anyone there-!??

-No one responds…..

Anyone!!???

Anyone at all,  _ please- _

I’m panicking, don’t panic.

_ Don’t panic- _

IS SOMEONE OUT THERE AT ALL!???!

Answer me-

_ Someone- _

There has to be  _ someone. _

-What if there isn’t-NO I can’t think like that-!!

There has to be a way out.

There has to be!

There must be-

There-

I’m struggling for breath.

I don’t want to lose my senses here!!

Calm-

Calm down-

There must be an exit.

I can’t even feel my feet!!

I can’t-I can’t hear myself think--

No sound. . . .there’s no sound here-!!

The urge to scream wells up in me, but I can’t even do  _ that. _

I’m choking on emptiness.

My heart might burst out of my rib cage it’s beating so fast.

I’m trying to  _ escape  _ but I  _ can’t- _

-No, I  _ will. _

One way or another I  _ will---- _

Just-don’t black out-

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Am I awake or not-!??

How much time has passed I don’t know.

I don’t know I don’t know-

It’s no use running in a direction if I can’t  _ see- _

I need an out!

Something-

A light?

Light-

Wait. . .

There’s a light.

Hope mixes with terror, don’t be a trick-

I sprint for it!!

I can almost make out someone with an eye patch at the other end.

It’s not anyone I’ve ever seen before.

But. . .

They  _ do  _ bear an odd resemblance to. . . . . .

“Hello!? Hello can you hear me-”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At least C.G. is now dead.


	19. Oblivion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's this connection?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Panic/fear. Nyctophobia.

-They back up.

-Did I scare them?

  


“-Who are you?”

“I’m-”

  


-Do I really want to call myself a Ghost right now?

  


“I was sealed in here-”

“For what?”

  


Their one blue eye is cold-

I squint to get a better view of what’s in front of me.

That light-

  


“Ow-!!”

  


My hand glances off a barrier.

  


“How are you doing this?”

“I don’t know”.

  


I try to see beyond them.

Watery. . .silhouettes?

  


“But you  _ can  _ hear me”.

“Yes. . .”

  


I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding.

  


“Can you get me out of here?”

  


I bang uselessly at it-

  


“It’s too dark”.

“Um…”

  


She knocks on it.

I can’t hear-

  


“It’s pretty hard”.

“Please?”

  


-I don’t even know their name.

  


“Try?”

“. . .I will look-”

  


They walk away.

I’m on tenterhooks-

Come back soon.

  
  
  


I’ve slid to the ground-

What passes for a ground anyway, by the time they  _ do _ return.

  


“I brought a blowtorch”.

  


I almost laugh.

-Almost.

  


“If it works-”

  


I see the orange flame.

  


“-How is it?”

“I’m not getting anything-”

  


It can’t be-

  


“Turn up the heat?”

  


I wait-

  


“No. . .it just won’t melt. It’s at the hottest setting I can possibly get it”.

“....There’s-nothing else?”

“I can try to hit it with a bat-”

“Anything is better than this”.

  


They disappear again.

  
  
  


They smack at it with a manner of objects, but it’s, all, the, same-

No dents!

Trapped forever is...trapped forever!??

I don’t want to believe it.

I don’t  _ want  _ to-

I  _ can’t  _ be trapped.

  


“-Where are you talking to me from?”

“My backyard”.

“What”.

“My backyard has a pond”.

“.....Oh”.

  


So it’s the reflection then.

-But what happens when the sun goes down?

The thought of being in that suffocating emptiness alone-

My breath shallows.

I fixate on a point in the lightness.

Need to clear my mind-

  


“What’s different about...your pond, compared to others?”

“-You could tell?”

“People don’t have conversations like this every day”.

  


I suppose they could somewhere, but-

  


“True”.

Am I only talking to them just so I don’t crash?

Probably.

  


“So what is it?”

“-I left my shadow here”.

“What?”

“A man with tentacles on his face said he could help me. It’s better now, but people think I’m a vampire”.

  


-!

I  _ thought  _ they looked-

  


“Your shadow is the Ace!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, we have twins-


	20. Finished Role

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ghost is on their way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cw: Brief death mention, being trapped.

“Who?”

“-Someone who looks like you”.

“Like how?”

“Blonde hair, purple dress-”

“......................................Oh”.

  


They don’t say much-

  


“I guess”.

  


Except that.

  


“That was a while ago”.

“I gathered”.

  


I let out a sigh-

  


“He’s dead now”.

“-Hm”.

  


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  


“The dark magic must have permanently linked to your pool”.

“-You’re the expert”.

“.............If I were really an expert, I’d be able to get out of here”.

“Why are you there?”

“I. . . . .”

  


It’s almost too painful to speak.

  


“I have to stay down here, or he’ll come back-”

“Huh”.

  


………………………………………………………………………………..

  


“-This isn’t even the world I came from”.

“Are you stuck here, or can you go there?”

“I don’t know-”

  


I run a hand over my face.

  


“I  _ want  _ to leave…..”

“What are you going to do?”

“. . . . . “

  


What am I going to do.

  


“Can you go through the glass?”

  


I start.

  


“Wh-What!?”

“Alice could do it. . . .remember? In that story-”

  


Alice and the Looking Glass.

-I don’t even know if I dare hope.

I don’t even know if it will keep disaster from spilling over again-

  


But it’s not the same world, I remind myself.

I  _ have  _ to remind myself.

Maybe-

  


Maybe it will be different.

  


I reach a trembling hand. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Don’t crack.

Don’t crack-

I just want-

To go back-

To where I was before.

All of this-

Even happened-!!

  


-My eyes are wet.

What-

  


I’m-

  


I wipe them.

I don’t have the time-

  


I let my fingers drift.

  


Let me through………….

  


What if it doesn’t?

-But what do I even have to lose, anymore. . . .

  


I slip my fingers through.

-Wait.

I-I  _ can- _

  


-Is it because. . .I’m  _ not  _ trying to escape into this other world. . . .this opposite loop.

  


I hope it is. . . . . . .

I just want-

  


“-Are you going?”

  


I stop.

I look back at them-

  


“.....I’m….trying-”

“Good luck”.

“....Thank you”.

  


-Wasn’t expecting that……..

  


I nod.

  


“To you as well”.

  


-It probably has no meaning here.

It just felt-like something to do.

  
  


I stand there, in the diamond flash-

Waiting for my  _ eyes  _ to clear.

  


“Hello?”

  


No one responds.

Not that I had been waiting for a response, anyway-

  


“Anyone...here-?”

  


-How many utterances.

Someone count.

  


I can’t tell one way or another anyway.

Who’s here and who’s not.

There’s a permanent scar on my hand from where the Essence used to be.

  


I think this whole incident’s left a new scar in my mind.

  


“-I’m looking for the Mindscape-”

  


I hear nothing.

I’m still worried something will break.

Don’t drop me right back where I started-

A band of golden light soars around the fractals, and highlights a mirror.

In the  _ way  _ back, of course it is.

But I’m willing to walk-

  


Tiny cracks.

They follow me-

My state’s tenuous as is.

But I find it-

A big pixelation over the glass.

I don’t know why I even bother being surprised anymore.

  


I slip an arm inside.

Clanking.

That’s a good sign.

It means-

  


I duck under the low rim.

Yes, they’re back.

The chains she stole from me.

I’ve entered another universe.

Which one?

  


I’m grateful for full light.

That’s a plus.

The lines of...different mirrors, are a possible confirmation I can only guess at.

I check each reflected image as I pass by.

I don’t recognize anything.

  


I have a sinking feeling again, but I push it aside.

I’ve made it this far-

Somehow.

  


-I lost track of BJ, that other person, and Natsuki(?).

  


If I have a spare moment (and if things aren’t completely out-of-hand here. . . . .)

  


I can’t go back for them anyway.

  


I stop cold.

I-I really  _ can’t. _

I didn’t mean to. . .

  


. . .

  


I take a deep breath.

It’s too late now.

‘It’s never too late’, he said.

But it is.

  
  


I’ll have to leave it in their hands.

Whatever happens next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We coulda had a good squad out of Natsuki, Yoshino, the Ghost, and BJ. I just realized.


	21. The Ghost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The point of intersection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings!

-Is that who I think it is?

I’ve been wandering for ages-

Well I suppose I’ll be quite the surprise then, won’t I?

  
  


I reach through the glass and grab a hold of his collar.

“Alex, get a hold of yourself”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More cookies if you guess where this is from.

**Author's Note:**

> We found her-


End file.
